Travels of a Different Sort
by ZenosParasox
Summary: A few months after Korra and Asami return from their vacation, the Republic City portal begins acting oddly, so they return to the spirit world to investigate. Following the strange energy to the Tree of Time, they suddenly find themselves transported back to the time of the Hundred Year War. Korrasami.
1. Chapter 1

She tumbled across the strangely fibrous ground, seeing nothing but a bright light. Just for a moment, her mind was a blank slate in the whiteness and she remembered nothing. Slowly, a trickle began to return, then everything all at once. Names, faces, events, they all fell back into place as she rose from the ground, which was covered in what Korra now recognized as grass.

Trying to come up to her knees, she slipped back again as something hard and round rolled out from under her legs. Her vision was returning slowly, and she could make out the image of her glider staff lying across the ground. She pulled it out from under her and struggled to her feet, using the staff to prop herself up.

Korra rubbed her eyes, not recognizing the sunlit scenery around her. Last she knew, she had been in the spirit world, meditating in the Tree of Time, but now she was standing on a grassy mountainside, somewhere in what looked a bit like the mountains outside Republic City. She had felt something… odd in the Tree, like a little crack, and when she reached out to examine it, it had pulled her and Asami inside and–

_Asami!_ Korra looked around in a sudden panic and found the CEO lying on the grass, not far from where Korra had been herself. She rushed to the fallen girl's side; Asami was breathing, but still unconscious. They were both unharmed and there was no immediate danger, so Korra sat back down on the grass, taking stock of her surroundings.

She and Asami had been deposited from who-knows-where onto a clearing at the side of a large mountain, surrounded by trees on all sides except for where a dirt path created two gaps in the forest. Mountains rose all around her, their bases carpeted by trees, and Korra suspected she was somewhere in the United Republic of Nations, probably the northeast, but she couldn't be sure.

One mountain a ways to the north caught her eye. Its distinctive cone shape and flattened peak marked it as a volcano. That would have implied she was in the Fire Nation, but Korra recognized that particular peak. It was Mount Makapu, a lone volcano in the northeastern corner of the United Republic of Nations. That put her several hours away from Republic City. If she had been alone she would have just flipped out her glider and flown off, but Asami was still unconscious, and while Korra could easily carry the older girl on her glider, that required Asami to be holding on, which wasn't about to happen.

Asami stirred next to her, groaning as she rolled across the ground, snuggling up next to Korra as if they had just woken up from a pleasant nap. She opened her eyes slowly, squinting in the sunlight.

"Korra?" Asami looked up at the Avatar, blinking as her eyes adjusted to the bright daylight and her vision came into focus. Korra wrapped her arm around Asami and lifted her up to a sitting position, pulling the older girl next to her. "Weren't we in the spirit world a minute ago?"

Korra leaned back on her hands and looked around them. "Yeah, at the Tree of Time. But we're not anymore."

Asami gave a small chuckle. "So I can see. But where are we then?"

"We're in the United Republic, I think." She pointed to the volcano in the distance. "I'm pretty sure that's Mount Makapu."

Asami squinted at the distant cone, her vision not quite cleared yet. "I think you're right. We're not too far from Republic City then. But how did we get back from the spirit world? We're nowhere near the poles."

Korra punched the air and a long burst of flame shot out from her hand, vanishing as quickly as it had appeared. They were physically here at least. If only their spirits had been here, she wouldn't be able to bend. "That's a good question."

She felt a stirring in the back of her mind and closed her eyes. A calm, feminine voice that was not her own spoke from within her. '_Korra. Be wary, something is not as it seems.'_

"What's wrong?" Asami asked, sensing her girlfriend's sudden concern.

Korra shook her head. "It's Raava. She senses something wrong, but she doesn't know what."

Asami looked down at the grass, unsure of how to respond. Everything around them seemed peaceful, but when the ancient spirit of light was anxious, it was wise to stay alert. She rested her hand comfortingly on the Avatar's, eliciting a loving smile.

"How are you feeling? I was pretty out of it when I first woke up."

"Mostly better. Well enough to get moving." To prove her point she stood up and raised her arms up over her head in a languid stretch. "Come on, we can follow that path towards Makapu Village," she said, referring to the secluded village at the volcano's base. It was near Republic City, but almost impossible to reach by Satomobile, and there was no train, so the small town had gained a reputation as a quiet getaway location. "We can radio someone to send an airship to pick us up."

"Oh. Yeah, we could walk, I guess." Korra stood next to Asami and shed her dark parka, stuffing it into their pack, which had landed next to Asami. It was winter, but much too warm here for heavy winter clothing. "Or…" Korra held out her glider. It would be much faster to fly than to walk, and by air, they could head straight to Republic City.

Asami looked at the staff, reluctance clear on her face. She wasn't averse to the flying itself, but the city was several hours away, and that was a long time to be clinging to Korra in the sky, with nothing but empty air below her. She looked back up at Korra. "I know it's slower, but I'd really prefer to walk."

Korra shrugged. A walk with Asami was never a bad thing, and the staff could double as a walking stick. "Okay then. I guess it's a nice day for a hike anyway." She reached out her hand to Asami. "I can take the pack."

Asami straightened her backpack on her shoulders. "I've got it." She looked up at the sun, judging the time by its position in the sky. "We should get moving though. We'll want to be at the village by nightfall."

Korra nodded her agreement and the two set off down the path. As time passed and the simple road wound its way through the mountains Korra silently hoped an airship would pass overhead so she could fly up and get them passage back to the city, but the skies remained stubbornly airship-free.

Makapu village wasn't so far from where they had woken up, but the path was windier than either girl had expected, and the sun began to set over the mountains while they were still a couple miles from their destination. Neither of them was overly worried, but they kept a cautious eye on their surroundings as night fell. This area was known to be home to be platypus bears, and while either girl could have easily handled one of the creatures, it was best to avoid the fight entirely, especially if there really was something wrong.

As the village appeared from around the mountain they found an old man out on the road, a watchman of some sort, though that seemed odd, given that they were in the heart of United Republic territory and the areas around Republic City were relatively safe. He could hardly have been finding many bandits.

He wore an old fashioned Earth Kingdom robe and a mistrustful scowl on his face, both of which were revealed in the light of the lamp he carried. He raised the lamp up, trying to get a better look at Korra and Asami.

"Who goes there?" He shouted at the girls as they approached. They strolled into the light, trying their best not to look like bandits.

"I'm Korra, and this is Asami. Who are you?"

The old man pointed a crooked finger at them threateningly, "Now you mind your business, missy." He looked up and down Korra, then Asami, and his scowl deepened. "Water Triber, huh? Seem to be a lot of you folks round these days." He turned back to Asami, eyeing her suspiciously. "Yer not a firebender, are ye?"

Asami turned to Korra in confusion at the old man's strange question. "Um, no? I'm not any sort of bender."

Korra stepped forward, trying to be helpful. "Do you need a firebender? I'm the Avatar, so– "

"Bwahahaha! Avatar, huh? Sure ye are, missy," he laughed, a grating, rasping sound that set the young couple on edge. His mocking smile vanished, and he glowered at them again. "What's yer business in Makapu?"

Asami answered carefully, not fully trusting this strange old man. "We're just looking to stay the night, then get passage back to Republic City."

"Republic whatnow?"

The girls turned to each other, exchanging confused expressions. It was beginning to look like the old man was just crazy. Korra attempted to bring the conversation to an end. "Listen, we're not here to cause any trouble, we just want to get into town."

He eyed them again, then lowered his lamp. "Ah, ye look 'armless enough to me. Go on through. Ye'll want to speak to Dhari up at the inn. She'll set'cha up for the night."

Asami nodded to the old man in thanks, though she was slightly insulted at being dismissed as harmless. She walked up behind Korra, chuckling from the odd encounter. "That was… interesting."

"Yeah," Korra agreed, "strange. Kinda weird not to be recognized everywhere I go. Kinda nice, though."

They left the old man to his patrolling and continued on into the night. Makapu village itself came into view as the last light of the sunset faded over the horizon, but something immediately seemed off in the old village. Whatever Raava had sensed, the two girls were beginning to feel it as well.

Asami leaned to Korra, keeping her voice quiet, "Why is it so dark?"

Korra glanced around the buildings. She was right, not only were the streets darkened, but hardly any of the buildings had light coming from the windows, leaving the town eerily dark. Makapu wasn't the most developed town around, given the rugged terrain that surrounded it, but last time Korra had been here they had at least had streetlights.

"Blackout maybe? Come on, that's the inn. Maybe they'll have a phone we can use." She pointed to one building with glowing windows, though the light from inside flickered and wobbled, probably cast by a fire rather than an electric light.

"The phone won't work in a blackout…" Asami muttered as she jogged to catch up with Korra who had already started for the inn. There was something else wrong here, but Asami couldn't put her finger on it in the darkness, and talking to someone would be a good place to start.

The inside of the inn was about what Asami had expected. Simple wooden floors, old-timey furniture, the pervasive smell of alcohol, everything one might expect from a rural Earth Kingdom tavern. But still, Asami couldn't shake then nagging sense that suspicion was missing. She stepped past the upturned chairs on the tables to the bar, where Korra was waving down a middle aged woman in a simple green dress.

The woman glanced worriedly at Asami as she spoke, but her voice was friendly and welcoming, if a bit tired. "Evening, ladies. I'm afraid the bar's closed for the night, but we've plenty of rooms to rent."

Korra returned her cheerful attitude, "Yeah, we'll take a room. But first, do you mind if we use your phone? We got kinda lost earlier, and we should tell our friends where we are."

"I'm sorry, my what?" the woman inquired, and Korra looked questioningly at Asami. Sure, Makapu was remote, but they had to have a phone, didn't they? The lady pulled a key from under the bar and slid it to Korra. "Room's three copper a night. Third door on your right at the top of the stairs."

Copper? Not many places in the United Republic accepted anything but yuans anymore. Korra turned back to Asami, who was still carrying their pack. Fortunately, they had been in the Southern Water Tribe before going to the spirit world, and had some old fashioned money in the bag. "Oh, right. 'Sami, can you pass me the Water Tribe money?" She looked back around to the woman at the bar. "That's all right, isn't it?"

She nodded. "So long as it's made of copper."

Asami sifted through the bag and dug out the pouch of coins. "I'm sorry, we don't have any copper. Here's a sliver. Don't worry about the change."

"Thank you kindly miss." She took the silver coin appreciatively. "My name's Dhari. Just ask if you need anything, okay?"

Korra took the key from her and shook the older woman's hand. "I'm Korra, and this is Asami. It's nice to meet you."

"Korra?" The Avatar braced for what was about to come next. Fame's appeal had long ago worn thin, and now the inevitable 'you're the Avatar and I'm so honored to meet you' conversation was just irritating. But Dahri's sentence took a very different turn. "That would explain it. You're from the Water Tribe, aren't you? Are you a waterbender?"

"Uh, yeah. I am," Korra responded, taken aback. "Actually, I'm the…" She stopped herself. That was twice in a row that someone had failed to identify her as the Avatar, even though her face seemed on the front page of the newspaper at least once a month. It would be nice to stay anonymous for a little while, and until they figured out what Raava had sensed it was probably best not to advertise their presence.

"Been a lot of you about, haven't there?" the lady said idly as she wiped down a mug.

Asami took the key from Korra and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. "I'm going up to the room, I'll meet you there."

Korra smiled up at Asami and nodded. "Be up in a minute." She turned back to Dhari, curious about the other Water Tribe visitors. People from the Water Tribes must have come here all the time, but both Dhari and the old man had mentioned it as though it were a significant event. "Who else from the Water Tribes came here?"

Dhari shrugged. "Don't remember their names, just a couple of kids travelling with the Avatar. Saved us from the volcano when it blew its top."

"Wait, the Avatar?"

* * *

Asami hadn't bothered to pack proper sleepwear on what was supposed to be a simple trip the spirit world, so she simply released her hair from its clip, folded her jacket up next to the low bed, and sat down to remove her boots. She whipped around as the door burst open and Korra rushed through, a look of mild panic on her face. "We need to talk."

* * *

**Author's Note: So here it is, the first chapter of my first ever fanfiction! Just to be clear, this is set a bit after the events of the episode "Bato of the Water Tribe"and will follow Korra and Asami as they navigate the world of Aang's time and, of course, get involved in the Gaang's adventures, as well as having a few of their own. Enjoy, and don't forget to leave a review!**


	2. Chapter 2

"And you're absolutely sure she was being serious?"

Korra nodded. "Why would she lie?"

"But I don't– How is that even possible?"

"Well, we were in the Tree of _Time _after all. If it's possible anywhere, that'd be the place."

Asami let out a long breath, trying to get a handle on the news she had just received. If what Korra had been told was true, they were in a lot of trouble. She had no clue as to how they might get back home, and was fairly certain that no one else did either.

"So what are we going to do?" Asami asked hesitantly. She didn't expect Korra to have an answer, but they could hardly do nothing.

Korra fell back on the bed. What _was _she going to do? It was probably best to try and find a way back to their own time, but they were in a rare position to do a lot of good. With what they knew, with Korra's powers as the Avatar and Asami's big brain, the two of them could probably turn the tide of the war.

But the war was almost over at this point anyway. As best she could judge, there were only a few months before Aang defeated the Fire Lord. That meant this was a pivotal time in history, and if she changed the wrong thing, she could do a lot of damage.

"I dunno." She rolled over on the bed to look up pleadingly at Asami. "Sleep on it?"

Asami smiled and shook her head at the sleepy waterbender, who had already buried her face in the pillow. The beds were built into the floor, so they'd be sleeping separately tonight (an arrangement neither of them liked) but it was late, and they were both exhausted. Besides, there was nothing they could do about their situation right now.

"Yeah. Sleep on it. Goodnight Korra."

"G'night 'Sami."

* * *

The morning arrived quietly, and the two girls slept far longer than either had planned, though Korra wasn't about to complain. As Asami changed back into her proper clothes, a thought struck her.

"We might want to find some different clothes. This looks a bit Fire Nation." She suggested to Korra, holding up her coat.

Korra herself was wearing her usual dark blue sleeveless shirt and loose-fitting pants. Her hair had grown out some, and while it wasn't as long as it had been before she left for the South Pole, it was long enough that she had taken to pulling it into three little wolftails. As adorable as Asami may have found them, they were very distinctively Water Tribe and were bound to draw attention.

Her girlfriend shrugged. "_You_ look a bit Fire Nation. And I definitely look Water Tribe. Clothes aren't gonna change that."

"That's true, but it wouldn't hurt to have a little something less modern. Besides, we'll still have to hit the market. We can't stay here, and we didn't pack for a long trip. How much money do we have?"

Korra grabbed the pack from the ground and pulled the pouch of coins out from inside, sifting through its contents. "Twelve gold and eight silver. Not that I know what that means in this time."

"Me neither," Asami responded as Korra passed her the small bag, "but if a night in the inn only costs three copper, we should have enough to pick up some gear and supplies."

They ate a quick breakfast, their silver piece from last night covering the cost, and headed out into town. In the fresh light of day the fact that they were not in the present was obvious. People wore traditional Earth Kingdom robes and tunics, some even sporting elaborate hairpieces. There were no electrical devices to be seen, and no evidence that any were present anywhere in town.

The marketplace was surprisingly lively for an occupied Earth Kingdom village. It was split into two levels, connected by a set of narrow stone stairs. The upper level was mostly clear of people, seemingly a town meeting place with a small roofed plinth in the center. The lower level wrapped around it and was full stalls and merchant's carts of every description.

Korra had been through dozens of markets like this during her time wandering the world trying to reconnect with Raava. It was humble, but offered most of the things that the young couple would need. Korra could make earth shelters easily so she had intervened before Asami could buy them a tent, but they did pick up a second pack, an extra water skin, a length of rope, and a small spyglass, as well as several days' worth of dried foods and cured meats.

One particularly fragrant cart at the market was practically overflowing with flowers, attended by an older man with blue-grey robes and an odd moustache. Most of the cart's contents were familiar to Korra and were fairly common in this region, but a handful of strange, black and white flowers stood out from the rest.

As Korra paused to examine them she must have caught the florist's attention, because he seemed to materialize at her side.

"Looking for a gift for the special man in your life?" he inquired, sounding very much like a man with something to sell.

Korra chuckled. "Not exactly. What makes you think that?"

"Well, I wouldn't expect you to recognize it; I can't imagine they have many flowers in the water tribes." He gave a little laugh at his own joke, but petered off when Korra didn't join him. "Ahem. Anyway, this is a panda lily. Very beautiful, very rare. They can only grow with just the right amount of volcanic ash, but here they're a symbol of total and unconditional love."

Korra glanced at Asami, who was filling their water skins from the town well. She wasn't usually one to put a great deal of significance in symbolic gestures, but she was willing make an exception.

Sifting through her pack for the coin purse, she turned back to the flower merchant. "Actually, you know what? I will take one. How much?"

"Five silver."

"Five silver?" Korra asked incredulously, "That's ridiculous."

The flower merchant gave her a condescending look. "It is very rare. It requires precise conditions to grow, and it can only be found–"

"It's a flower," Korra interrupted. "I bought a week's worth of supplies for four silver. I may be from the Water Tribes, but I wasn't born yesterday."

"It's very rare…" the merchant repeated, but gave up when he saw that Korra wasn't backing down. "Very well. Three silver. But that's my final offer!"

"Fine." Korra probably could have gotten him to go lower, but Asami was already heading her way, so she handed the merchant three silver coins and tucked the flower into a safe spot in her pack to surprise Asami with later.

The morning's quiet was broken by the sound of a woman pleading from the upper level of the marketplace. All the villagers seemed to shrink down, trying to look inconspicuous. Something was wrong, and these people knew what, but none of them looked like they were going to do anything about it. Well, not so for Korra. She may not have been able to act publicly as the Avatar, but she wasn't going to just sit by and let innocent people get hurt, either.

She quickly ascended the stairs to the second level of the town square, where a man in red and black armor was dragging a struggling boy from his home. A woman, probably his mother, stood clutching her arm in pain by the door. The kid couldn't have been more than fourteen years old, and his mother pleaded with the soldier again, but the man shouted something about recruitment and redoubled his efforts to drag the kid away.

Korra scoffed. 'Recruitment.' She had heard about life in the Fire Nation Colonies during the Hundred Year War, and about how the natives were treated by the occupying forces. More likely this woman had refused to pay the soldier a bribe. In response, he had decided to take her son, to 'teach the unruly peasants a lesson' or some such nonsense. But he wasn't about to get away with that today.

Korra positioned herself between the soldier and the stairs to the lower level of the town, but hesitated. What exactly was she planning to do? The soldier was presumably well trained, but wouldn't last long against a bender of Korra's caliber, even if she limited herself to one element. What worried her was what might come after. The Fire Nation of this era was ruthless, and the military governors that ruled the colonies doubly so. Attacking one of their soldiers could be met with swift and brutal retribution, and Korra didn't want to be the cause of any more problems for this town.

She considered just bribing the soldier and sending him on his way, but quickly dismissed that idea. If she gave him a gold piece today, he and one of his friends would just be back tomorrow, demanding two gold pieces each.

The soldier stood in front of Korra, still gripping the teenager by the wrist. He eyed her threateningly. "Stand aside! Official Fire Nation business."

Korra crossed her arms and shot the man an impatient look. "Let the kid go. He's not hurting anyone." She didn't really expect this approach to work, even the pacifist Aang had often been forced into fighting, but it was worth a shot to protect the villagers.

"I said stand aside, water-savage!" The man shouted, referring derisively to Korra's obvious Water Tribe heritage. He moved to step around her, trying to push her to the side.

Korra allowed the insult to pass, something she never would have done four years ago, but moved to intercept the man, standing suddenly in front of him once again. He stepped back, unused to such impudence from someone he had dismissed as just another defenseless villager. In his surprise, his grip on the boy loosened just enough for the teenager to break free and run back towards his home.

He whipped around, grabbing at the air, but the boy was already back with his mother, who hurried him inside and locked the door behind her. The soldier shouted back at them, "This isn't over!"

The soldier faced Korra with a sneer, pulling his sword from its scabbard. _So much for talking._ He advanced, making several quick strikes with his sword, but Korra dodged each one with ease. The soldier's motions were quick and balanced, but formulaic, speaking of a man who was well-drilled rather than truly skilled.

He swung out to the right and Korra stepped nimbly under his blow, coming inside the man's reach, too close for him to make effective use of his sword. Her sudden advance caught the soldier off guard, and he made a quick swipe at Korra's face to gain a bit of breathing room. As she leaned back to let the sword rush harmlessly past her face the soldier retreated a step before lunging forward again with a precise thrust aimed at Korra's heart.

In one fluid motion, Korra sidestepped the blow and, turning to allow the attack to pass in front of her, gripped her opponent by the wrist and pulled him forward, using his own momentum to fling him onto the ground. She gave a sharp twist of her wrist as he fell, forcing the blade from his hand.

The proud soldier stared up at her, eyes wide with shock at how easily he had been beaten.

Asami climbed the stairs, investigating the commotion and the startled gasps that had been directed towards the courtyard. A dismayed man in red armor dashed past her, nearly knocking her over, and she began to suspect what must have happened. At the top of the stairs, she found Korra, stooping down to retrieve a stout sword from the ground, presumably one that had belonged to the weaponless soldier that had been in such a hurry to leave.

"Korra, are you alright? What happened?" The Avatar looked unhurt, but Asami couldn't help but worry. They may not have been chi-blockers or Red Lotus benders, but the Fire Nation soldiers weren't to be taken lightly.

Before Korra could respond, a tall, thin woman in her mid-thirties jogged up behind her, holding her arm as though it were injured. She shook Korra's hand vigorously, "Thank you, miss. Thank you so much."

Korra rubbed the back of her neck and smiled her adorable crooked smile. "It's no trouble, really. That guy had no right to try and take your son." She looked down at the woman's injured arm. "Are you hurt?"

The woman shrugged to allay Korra's concern, but winced subtly as her shoulders fell. "I'll be alright miss, it's just a bruise."

Korra frowned; it was clearly more than that. "Please, let me help, I'm a healer."

To demonstrate, she reached out to the well on the level below and pulled up a stream of water. She spun it slowly into a sphere in front of her and offered it to the woman, who was staring in amazement. Asami realized that this woman had probably never seen waterbending in her life.

The villager looked nervously at Korra, probably also unaware of waterbending healing. Korra recognized this as well. "Let me see your arm," she requested gently.

The woman hesitantly extended her injured arm, grimacing as she did so. As Korra had feared, the forearm was severely bruised, and had been sprained at the very least. She guided the water onto the injury, feeling the damage though the water. As the water enveloped the woman's arm Korra made slow, flowing motions with her hands and the liquid began to glow a bright blue.

The villager let out a small gasp and looked as though she might retract her arm in surprise, but she relaxed as the injuries began to disappear. Her work finished, Korra withdrew the water and tossed it aside, letting it splash across the stone pavement. The woman looked at her arm in wonderment, her injuries completely vanished.

"You were lucky, it was just sprained. A broken bone probably would have taken a while to heal, even with waterbending." Korra smiled warmly as the older woman continued to stare at her, open mouthed and at a loss for words.

* * *

Corporal Ren hurried down the steel corridors of Pohuai Stronghold, making for the office of its commander, Colonel Shinu. The colonel was not a forgiving man, and normally Ren would have never reported a humiliating defeat such as this, but the young Water Tribe woman was clearly an expert fighter.

And where there was one water-savage, there were others. The tribesmen hunted in packs, like wolves, and if there was a band of Water Tribe warriors stalking the Earth Kingdom colonies it would have been a dereliction of Ren's duty not to report it. Especially if the skills of that girl were typical of the group.

Ren came to a stop in front of the steel door that barred entrance to the Colonel's office. He looked at the guard standing watch, a woman from his own platoon.

"Hello, Sergeant," he greeted with a respectful nod of the head. "Is the Colonel busy?"

She nodded in reply. "Yeah, been in a meeting with Captain Rui for about an hour now," she said, referring to the leader of the deadly Yuyan archers. "Got something he needs to hear?"

"I do. I… had a run in with a water-savage in Makapu."

"Sounds like trouble. Were you shaking down villagers for money again?" Her eyes dropped, noting Ren's empty scabbard. "Where's your sword?"

"She uh, she took it."

A smug smile tugged at the sergeant's lips. "Must've been quite the fighter."

"She took me down like it was nothing," he replied, shaking his head. Ren was a highly trained swordsman, one of the best in the garrison, but the Water Triber had bested him in seconds, without breaking a sweat.

The sergeant's smile disappeared. The ferocity of Water Tribe warriors was infamous, especially the warriors from south. There was a reason that the relatively small and poorly armed tribes had weathered a hundred years of war, after all.

The door swung opened and a tall man in a dull brown uniform stepped through, barely acknowledging the presence of the lower ranking soldiers as he passed. A gruff voice emanated from the room beyond.

"Can I help you Corporal?"

Ren stepped through, giving a respectful bow to his commanding officer. "I've come to make a report, sir."

The colonel sat down at his desk, pulling a piece of parchment from one of the drawers and beginning to write. "Go on."

"Sir, I encountered a warrior from one of the Water Tribes while making my rounds in Makapu. I was unable to apprehend her, but was able to evade capture. I suspect there may be more of them around." He did his best to put a positive spin on his defeat, but the generals amused smirk showed it wasn't working.

Colonel Shinu examined the nervous man in front of him. He knew exactly what the corporal had been doing when he was 'making his rounds'; the soldiers often went around the local villages looking for bribes. But then, what could one expect from the peasant classes that most of his men seemed to come from these days?

"Is that all you have to report?"

The soldier gave a stiff nod. "Yes sir."

"Then you're dismissed."

The corporal gave another bow and moves swiftly from the office, closing the door behind him. Shinu had received no other reports of Water Tribe fighters anywhere nearby, but this one could very easily be an advance scout. If nothing else, the warrior had humiliated one of the soldiers under Shinu's command, and that dishonor would not stand.

* * *

The next couple hours passed in a blur of tea and gratitude, and it was afternoon by the time the girls were able to return to their business. The woman, Jaya, insisted that Korra and Asami come in for tea and lunch. They discussed a great variety of topics, everything from the weather to the state of the world. Apparently Aang and his friends had come through town just a couple days before, and had saved the entire town from a volcanic eruption.

Jaya had of course wanted to know everything there was to know about Korra's waterbending and Korra had been more than happy to share. Despite all the good she had done, Korra was not always a popular Avatar, and genuine gratitude was something she saw all too rarely. Korra would never have admitted it, and always tried to act as if these things were no big deal, but Asami knew how much being appreciated meant to the Avatar.

The couple bid farewell to Jaya after a pleasant lunch, and returned to their room in the inn, preparing for the journey to… wherever they went next. They hadn't really discussed it yet.

Figuring it was about time they did, Asami sat down on the bed across from Korra. "So, what are we going to do about getting back?"

Korra scrunched up her face, peering through their new spyglass before sliding it into the satchel she had purchased. "I dunno. I don't think we should try and contact Aang and his friends. We already know that they'll win the war, and we can't afford to mess that up. We don't want to change time any more than we have to, and they wouldn't know anything more than us anyway."

"Could we go back to the spirit world? Get back the way we came?" Asami offered.

"Maybe. I suppose I could open one of the portals and close it once we're through. But there's still Vaatu to deal with."

"Oh, right." Asami hadn't considered the dark spirit. This was before Korra had defeated him, so he would still be trapped in the Tree of Time, blocking their escape.

"Yeah. He's not exactly going to be helpful." She closed up the bag, the last of her things securely inside. "Still, I suppose it's as good a place as any to start. Maybe we don't actually have to go inside the tree. Then we could just leave him alone."

Asami shrugged. "It's worth a try, I guess." It wasn't like they had any better ideas, or anything else they should be doing. "We should go to the northern portal. It's a lot closer."

Korra slung the bag over her shoulder as she stood. "Well, we should get moving anyway. We'll never get back if we just hang around here."

The couple descended the stairs to find the inn suddenly abandoned. Dhari was at the window, closing and latching the shutters, clearly troubled by something.

"What's going on? Is something wrong?" Asami inquired as the older woman moved to the final window.

Dhari jumped nervously at the sudden voice from behind her. "Oh. You startled me, miss." She looked outside, pointing towards the front gate. "Soldiers about. You two'll be wanting to hide out upstairs 'til they're gone."

Korra shook her head at this remark, stepping forward. "No, they're probably here for me." She handed her staff to Asami. If they got hold of it and recognized its purpose they'd immediately have her pegged as an airbender, and that was bound to cause a stir. "Wait here, if there's trouble follow me, but we don't want anyone else getting hurt, so let's try not to start a brawl."

"Alright. But be careful. I'll be watching from this window." Asami was hardly thrilled at the prospect of letting Korra face down a group of Hundred Year War soldiers by herself, but she also knew Korra wasn't about to back down and risk letting the soldiers hurt the villagers.

Korra stepped outside and was immediately spotted by one of the soldiers, who pointed her out to the rest of the group. There were five in total, two carrying spears and three wearing heavy armor with masked helmets. She guessed those three were firebenders, as they weren't carrying any weapons. Korra strode boldly up to them and one of the benders stepped forward.

"You there! You're under arrest as an enemy of the Fire Nation!" He lit a flame over his palm and Korra tensed, readying herself for a fight. "Come quietly, or suffer the consequences!"

Korra relaxed and raised her hands into the air in a gesture of surrender. The soldier dispersed his flame and approached her with a pair of handcuffs, which Korra noted were made of a dark metal, probably simple iron. As she turned to allow the soldier to restrain her hands behind her back she glanced at the window, through which she could just make out a green eye staring back at her from between the shutters.

The soldiers led her from the town, heading down the road to the east, though they refused to tell her where they were taking her. Reaching out through the earth with the technique Lin had been teaching her, she could just make out light footsteps shadowing them, and she kept an eye out for a stream or other source of water, waiting for an opportunity to make her escape.

After an hour's walk they came to a creek, and with Asami practically on top of them, Korra made her move. She slammed herself shoulder-first into the nearest firebender, landing on the ground in a roll that took her into the edge of the water. There, she leapt to her feet and spun once to gather momentum, then brought her leg up in a spinning kick that sent a lash of water out at the startled soldiers, knocking all five of them onto the ground.

Working her hands, she pulled a stream of water onto her handcuffs and froze them, rendering the iron brittle. She jerked her hands apart, breaking the small iron chain that bound them together and brought them in front of her body, ready to launch into an attack.

As she moved, Asami darted from the bushes and placed her hand on one of the fallen firebenders, electrocuting him with her gauntlet. Another soldier stepped up behind her, brandishing a spear, but Asami was by far the quicker, coming around the point of his spear to plant her gauntlet squarely in his chest.

Korra swept her arms in front of her, bringing a surge of water out of the stream and across the Fire Nation troops. She raised it up around the standing figures and froze the entire group in place, leaving a gap in the ice around Asami.

The non-bender motioned down the path, back the way they had come. "I left our stuff back there a ways, let's go."

"Right," Korra nodded, and followed her off into the woods. The ice wouldn't hold forever, so Korra used her airbending to speed their escape as they moved north, putting several hours of normal walking between them and their pursuers. They only stopped when the sun began to set, not wanting to risk tangling with the wild animals that came out at night.

There was a small bluff overlooking the valley they had come to, and they set up camp atop it, Korra using her bending to light a campfire. She looked out across the valley; a fair sized river ran through it to the north.

"Hey, Asami?" she called out to the older girl, who was setting up the large sleeping bag they had purchased at the market.

"Hmm?"

"Do you think we could build a boat?"

Asami turned to the waterbender in confusion. "Um, I guess. Why?"

Korra pointed out across the valley to the river. "Well, that's flowing north, and it'll take a while to walk all the way to the North Pole."

"Yeah, but we can hardly make anything seaworthy. What'll we do once we reach the coast?"

That was a good point, something Korra hadn't really considered. There was rather a lot of ocean between the northern coast of the Earth Kingdom and while they weren't in a huge hurry, they didn't have enough supplies for a prolonged voyage.

"There are a lot of villages up there, right?" she inquired, "Controlled by the Fire Nation?"

"Probably."

"Well then it's obvious!" Korra exclaimed, but Asami clearly wasn't seeing what Korra was getting at. "We can take one of their ships!"

Asami frowned skeptically. "The two of us. Highjack an entire Fire Navy ship full of soldiers."

"Yeah!"

"That's crazy."

"Crazier than anything else we do?"

Asami's shoulders dropped. Korra had her there. The two of them had done far stranger and far more ambitious things in their time. That considered, stealing a ship didn't seem quite so preposterous.

"Maybe. But we can decide when we get there. We might find another option between now and then, so let's not make any plans just yet."

That was fair enough, Korra figured. It was impossible to say what would happen between now and then, so she climbed into the sleeping bag next to her girlfriend.

"Alright. Goodnight Asami."

"Night Korra."

* * *

**A/N: Chapter 2, yay! I've got the next couple chapters planned out, as well as several ideas for where I may go in the long run. I plan to update weekly from here on out.**


	3. Chapter 3

Korra placed her hands on her hips, proudly looking over her new creation. A crude but sturdy wooden canoe bobbed up and down in the edge of the river, prevented from floating away by means of four small pillars of earth. With a bit of creative bending, Korra had managed to carve the vessel from a single log, and while it certainly wouldn't last long on the open ocean, it was tough enough to handle a river, especially when guided by a waterbender.

The snapping of twigs came from behind her, and she turned to smile at Asami, who was bringing the last of their gear down to the river's edge.

"What'dya think, Asami?"

The older girl dropped the pack she was carrying onto the ground with the rest of their belongings. She walked over and wrapped her arms around Korra's shoulders, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. "It's great, sweetie."

Korra eyed her suspiciously. "Really great, or I-don't-want-to-offend-my-girlfriend great?"

Asami slumped her shoulders. "Hmm. Not sure about that," she teased.

Korra gave her a playful shove and she walked over to the water's edge, inspecting the roughly constructed craft. To the engineer's eye, it was sturdy and actually quite well built. It seemed canoe-building skills were just something that came with being from the Southern Water Tribe. She gave it a swift kick and it bounced around between the stone pillars Korra had bent to keep it penned in, but it didn't seem any the worse for wear.

"Seems alright to me. Boats aren't my specialty, but I think we'll be fine in this. Especially with your waterbending." She looked back to Korra, but the waterbender was peering into the distance, back to the pass they had come through. A column of smoke rose from the other side of the pass they had come through; the Fire Nation was just a few hours behind them.

Korra nodded to the packs on the ground. "Is that everything?"

"Yeah, we're all set." Asami had checked over their camp and done her best to cover their tracks, but there was no reason to stick around.

"Then let's get going." Korra grabbed the two packs and dropped them into the canoe. They quickly checked to make sure everything was secure then climbed aboard themselves, Korra taking position at the rear of the boat. She held her hands at her sides with curled fingers then pushed them downwards, returning the canoe's restraints to the riverbed and allowing it to float off downstream. The waterbender pulled her hands forward then swung them back, propelling the craft suddenly forward and down the river.

Korra continued to propel them along with waterbending for a while, but she eventually tired of that, taking a seat in the canoe and allowing the river's swift current to carry them northward. Taking a moment to look around, Korra was struck by how lovely this part of the Earth Kingdom was. As they moved north the green pine trees had given way to pink-blossomed cherry trees, which now seemed to be the only type of tree around, tinging the whole valley a pale shade of pink. The sky had remained clear for the most part, the blue broken only by a pair of fluffy white clouds to the east, and the air carried the faint scent of flowers, though Korra wasn't sure what kind. Cherry blossoms, probably.

As Korra scanned the hilltops, taking in the beauty of the early spring, Asami's gaze was fixed firmly on the sky, and she held up a hand to shield her eyes from the sun.

"Hey Korra, could you pass me that telescope?"

"Oh, sure." Korra reached into the bag behind her, turning to try and glimpse what had Asami so curious. Retrieving the bronze spyglass, she reached forward and handed it to Asami, still looking at the sky. The older girl seemed transfixed by a bird in the distance. "Going bird-watching?"

"I'm not sure that is a bird." Asami said distractedly as she extended the telescope and brought it up to her face. Her look of curiosity transformed to one of surprise as she stared through the lensed tube. "Korra? You'll probably want to see this."

Taking the telescope as Asami offered it to her, Korra turned around and peered through it. It took her a moment to locate the offending speck, but once she did she immediately recognized the reason for Asami's reaction. Even through the spyglass it was difficult to make out much detail, but Korra definitely recognized the six-legged bison that seemed to drift lazily through the sky. She turned back to Asami.

"Do you think that's…" Korra questioned, already knowing the answer.

"I don't see who else it could be."

She glanced down at her glider staff, part of her wanting very much to fly up and meet the legendary team that would be aboard the sky-bison. Looking back at Asami, Korra knew that she would be thinking along the same lines.

"Probably best if we don't," Korra said halfheartedly.

"Yeah."

Korra took another look at Appa, who was heading almost due west, and she could just see motion coming from the large saddle on his back, though she couldn't tell who it was that was doing the moving. She sighed as she slumped back down into the canoe and passed the telescope back to Asami, disappointed with her own good sense. Asami tried in vain to fight back a yawn and collapsed the telescope, depositing it in the bag behind her.

"Why don't you get some sleep? I can keep us from crashing into anything for a while." Korra had slept well the previous night, but Asami had hadn't fallen asleep until after Korra and had woken up first. Despite her experiences with Team Avatar, she had never really gotten used to sleeping in the wilderness, and it always left her a little drained.

"No, that's fine, I want…" She tried to decline the offer, but another yawn prevented her from finishing her sentence. Korra quirked an eyebrow in amusement.

"Go on. I'll wake you up if anything happens."

Asami went to protest again, it wasn't every day you got to spend as beautiful an afternoon as this canoeing with your girlfriend, but she was too tired to offer a convincing defense. She rearranged the backpack behind her, trying to make a useable pillow out of it, then leaned back and closed her eyes. Within two minutes she was asleep.

* * *

Katara rolled out one of their maps in front of her. Aang may have been the Avatar, but he was no great navigator, and she wasn't even sure they were going in the right direction. She looked over the edge of Appa's saddle, trying to use the river below to judge their location. But her brother seemed intent on making her life difficult, his feet kicking the map aside every time he changed position.

"Do you have to take up the _entire _saddle?" He was lying on his stomach now, spread out down the saddle's length, resting his head on the rim and looking out over the landscape.

"Hey, we've been up here for six hours. You can't blame a guy for wanting to stretch a little."

"Well, you're making it hard to read the map." She pulled it out from under his knees, trying to hold the large paper out in front of her. "What are you looking at, anyway?" Sokka had taken to spending hours just staring out at the land below through his telescope. 'Surveillance' he called it. Like he'd ever spot the Fire Nation before they spotted Appa.

"I'm not sure. There's this canoe, one that looks a bit like the ones Dad used to make. There's someone in it wearing blue. I'm thinking they might be Water Tribe."

Now _that _was something worth seeing. "Let me see!" Katara demanded, snatching the telescope from her brother's grip.

Sokka was right, the canoe did look vaguely Water Tribe, and one of its inhabitants was definitely wearing blue, but at the distance they were at, Katara couldn't see anything more. Aang's voice came from the sky bison's neck, where the young airbender sat cross legged at the reins.

"Do you guys want to go meet them? We've got time."

Katara thought about it for a moment, but shook her head. "No. Bato said that the tribe's warriors are on the other side of the Earth Kingdom. They're probably just someone wearing blue." People were allowed to do that without being from the Water Tribes, and there was no need to risk a trip to the ground just for that. Especially not with Fire Nation search parties scattered all across this region hunting for the Avatar.

* * *

"Asami, wake up!"

The engineer jolted out of her pleasant nap, more from the cold water splashing her face than Korra's shouting. It took Asami a moment to recognize, but they were surrounded on all sides by a shimmering sphere of rushing water, presumable the source of her rude awakening. The Avatar was standing in the boat, her arms sweeping through the flowing motions of waterbending that kept the walls around them from crashing back into the river.

Something struck their defenses, but it was quickly pulled from its path by the rushing liquid and Asami had no time to see what it was that was attacking them. Another pair of projectiles were batted harmlessly aside, and Asami tried to sit up to get a view of what was going on. Her clothes tugged her back down and she turned to see an arrow that had gone through her jacket and embedded itself in the canoe's hull, pinning her in place.

"What's going on?" she cried up at Korra, yelling to be heard over the din of the rushing water around them.

"I dunno! Some guys with bows!"

_Guys with bows. Very helpful, Korra._ Asami snapped the shaft of the arrow in two and slid her jacket over it, freeing herself from the floor of the boat.

"Are they from the Fire Nation?"

Korra shrugged, not breaking away from her bending. "I'm not sure! They weren't wearing Fire Nation uniforms, but they didn't try to rob us, they just attacked!"

That made it unlikely they were bandits, but who else would be attacking them? Asami scoured her memories of her history lessons; something about archers in the Hundred Year War rang a bell.

"These archers, were they wearing facepaint? Across their eyes?"

"I only got a good look at one of them, but yeah, he was." The sphere of water had settled into a smooth rhythm now, and the noise faded slightly.

"They're the Yuyan archers, a group of Fire Nation assassins." Asami stood and slid her electro-gauntlet onto her hand as she recalled details about the infamous marksmen. They were incredibly precise, and only sent out against high value targets, but the group was comprised entirely of non-benders, and never more than seven or eight strong. Even then, the entire group was almost never dispatched at once, so there were probably even fewer.

"Good for them. But how does that help us?"

"They're all non-benders, and there probably aren't more than a couple. If I can get in close with my glove, we should be able to handle them." The Yuyan archers were specialists, trained to have utterly mastered the use of one weapon: the bow. Hopefully, this meant that their hand-to-hand skills had suffered as a result. Asami flicked her fingers, and little sparks arced between the metal plates of the glove, showing off its charge.

Korra nodded. She hated sending Asami into the fray, but she had learned a long time ago there was little point in arguing. "I'll cover you. Are you ready?"

"Ready."

Korra pulled her arms in close to her chest, massing her defenses in front of her. Freezing the water into dozens of icy shards, she thrust her arms forward to shower the riverside with ice and send three figures diving for cover.

Three. That was the number to beat. Asami leapt off the side of the boat and a smooth slide of ice crystalized under her feet, arcing into a jump that catapulted her towards the nearest archer. She rolled as she landed, an arrow sailing overhead, and gripped the man around the leg with her gloved hand, bringing him twitching to the ground.

A bowstring twanged to her left, but a stream of water flicked the arrow from the air before it could find its mark. Asami dashed into the dense forest, using the foliage to prevent the archers from getting a clear shot. She spotted the second archer leaning out from behind one of the trees as he pulled another arrow from his quiver trying to ready another shot. She quickly closed the gap, coming in too close for his bow, forcing him to drop the weapon and take up a simple fighting stance.

He kicked high, and Asami easily ducked under the attack, allowing his own momentum to carry the swing into a tree. His heel slammed against the wood, momentarily unbalancing him as he retracted his leg in an expert recovery, but that split second mistake was all Asami needed, and another Yuyan archer hit the ground.

Asami rounded another tree to come face to face with the third archer, who was waiting on a high branch with his bow at the ready. Asami sidestepped to avoid the inevitable shot, but it never came, a shimmering tendril of water slicing though the taut bowstring to render the weapon useless. The man stared in shock at his ruined bow, but only for an instant, giving a sharp yelp as the tendril coiled around his midsection and whipped him off his feet.

As Asami made her way back to the canoe she could just make out the figure of the archer, dragging himself to shore some three-hundred feet downstream. She took Korra's outstretched hand and was pulled back into the canoe.

"Thanks for the assist," Asami remarked casually as she returned her gauntlet to the pack.

"No problem," Korra replied with a cheerful smirk. "I'm sure you didn't need it, but I tend to get upset when people point sharp objects at you." She scowled semi-jokingly at the archer as they floated by, who was lying on his back, exhausted.

Asami glanced at the sky; the sun had already sunk below the peaks of the mountains that surrounded the river. "We should probably get a move on. It's best if we put as much distance between us and the Fire Nation as we can before nightfall."

They sped along the river, not stopping until the sun had set fully and the first stars were visible in the sky. Korra bent a small cave in one of the cliff walls overlooking the river, one where they would be unnoticeable to all but the most careful observer. Nevertheless, the Fire Nation would still be looking for them, and would no doubt know they were heading north, so they took turns keeping watch as they slept.

Sure enough, sometime during Asami's watch in the small hours of the morning a pair of Fire Nation scouts atop Komodo rhinos rode by, carrying torches and clearly searching the area for something or, more likely, someone. Korra had used earthbending to hide the canoe in a crevice at the base of the cliff, and in the darkness there was no chance of the scouts spotting the girls' hiding place, so Asami merely kept quiet and allowed the men to pass.

Dawn arrived with grey skies and the gentle patter of rain, and the time-travelers set off once more, pressing northwards.

"Hey, Korra?" Asami called out as the waterbender propelled them down a bend in the river. "I don't think the boat's going to be much more use." Korra looked down at her in confusion, then followed her pointing arm to the river ahead, which dropped off suddenly into a steep, rocky series of waterfalls.

"Guess not." The canoe came to a halt and started to move towards the water's edge as Korra's waterbending motions shifted.

The young couple followed the river along the shore to its end, and by nightfall Asami's knowledge of geography proved true; there was indeed a village here. From their vantage point on a nearby hill they could see almost the entire settlement. It was much larger than Makapu, possessing several docks and a fair sprawl of buildings, its perimeter marked out by a high stone wall, though it was clear the wall had been smashed through and hastily repaired sometime in the recent past.

A red banner hung above the gates, emblazoned with the emblem of the Fire Nation.

Holding up a watery barrier against the drizzle, Korra looked to her girlfriend. "Now what?"

"Now," Asami said as she dropped her pack from her shoulders, "we put these on." She withdrew a heavy cloak and handed it to Korra before wrapping a second one around her shoulders. The cloak wrapped around Asami's front and entirely hid her clothes from view, the hood completing the disguise.

Korra pulled her own cloak on, fastening it with a small metal brooch. The garment was surprisingly comfortable, and very warm. _A pity these things went out of fashion, _she thought as she settled into it. She turned to Asami, lowering her arm to allow the dark red cloth to fall in front of her, hiding the blues of her Water Tribe wear. "How do I look?"

"You look great," Asami replied. "But you should pull your hair down. It's kind of distinctive and we can't wear our hoods all the time."

Korra pouted slightly at this, not entirely pleased at having to hide her Water Tribe heritage, but she tugged her hair free of the blue cloth that held it in place, letting it fall loosely to her shoulders.

"There we go. Now we shouldn't be attacked on sight, at least." Asami said.

As Korra and Asami approached the town gate, a weary man in red armor banged the butt of his spear on the floor of his guardhouse, the sharp sound calling the girls' attention.

"State your names and intentions, travelers!"

Korra and Asami traded brief glances before looking up to face the tired guardsman. Hopefully their faces hadn't yet made it onto the wanted posters, or this conversation would be very brief.

"My name's Yasuko," Asami began, then gestured to Korra, "And this is my wife, Izumi."

Korra waved innocently to the guard, hoping the dim light wouldn't reveal her to be too obviously from the Water Tribe.

The man's eyes narrowed and Asami subtly flicked a hidden switch on her gauntlet to power it up, bracing for a fight. The engineer didn't have to look to know that Korra was doing the same beside her, hearing the shift in the bender's stance and breathing as she readied to spring into action. Fortunately, the guard seemed more suspicious than actively hostile. "And what's your business in Chaoyang?"

"Just passing through," Asami replied, "We've been traveling from our village and hoped to stop and rest here for a few days before continuing on to Yu Dao to visit my grandfather."

The guard seemed to accept Asami's story, and nodded to someone out of sight. The gate began to swing open and he called down to the girls. "Alright then. See that you don't cause trouble, or you'll find yourselves taking a long rest in the dungeon."

They nodded at the not-so-subtle warning and moved through the gate, which groaned closed behind them. Once they were safely out of earshot of the guard, Korra leaned in to Asami with an impish smile. "Your wife, huh?"

"Well, I was going to say cousin, but then people might think it was weird when I did this." Asami closed the gap between them and planted a kiss on her girlfriend's smirking lips.

"Ah," Korra replied as her smirk became a grin. "Good thinking."

The time-travelling duo made their way cautiously through the village, looking for a suitable place to spend the night. People trundled quietly to and fro, collars flipped up and hoods raised, no one wanting to draw attention to themselves. With all the town's earthbenders rounded up a long time ago the once neatly paved streets had given way to soft dirt which had turned to a thick mud in the rain, and many of the once beautiful stone buildings had fallen into similar disrepair. Unfortunately, Asami suspected that this state of affairs was typical for an occupied Earth Kingdom village.

Korra and Asami shuffled past the nervous villagers and weary shopkeepers as they closed up their stalls and took their earning home for the day, no doubt trying to look as though they had earned little for fear the soldiers would come and demand the payment of new 'taxes'. The girls passed up several inns, some seeming too rowdy, the others occupied mostly by soldiers.

But one inn in particular seemed to catch Korra's interest. So far as Asami could tell this was one of the worst they had passed. Sure, there were no active brawls, and the place was almost completely devoid of soldiers, but it was tucked away, almost in an alley, and the pair of bounty hunters standing outside the door didn't fill Asami with confidence.

"The Silver Dragon?" Asami asked, reading the sign that hung above the door. The faded sign depicted a large white dragon, clutching a mug in one claw and a small flower in the other. The calligraphy was ornate, but faded and worn. The inn had probably seen better days. "Are you sure?"

Korra nodded enthusiastically. "Very sure. Come on let's take a look inside."

The inside of the Silver Dragon was actually much nicer than its exterior would suggest, though it was still a step down from the comfortable inn they had stayed at in Makapu. It was more furnished, but the clientele were of a distinctly unfriendly sort, casting sideways glances at the young couple as they stepped inside. None of this fazed Korra at all, and she scanned the room, her eyes settling on a tattooed man with an eyepatch, who sat in front of a Pai-Sho board.

Korra leaned in to whisper to Asami. "There he is."

Asami lowered her hood to get a better look at the man in question. Several tattoos of different shapes and sizes were visible around his neck and face, as well as a number of scars including one particularly notable mark that started just below his greying hairline, ran under his eyepatch, and ended near the corner of his mouth. At first glance she would have thought him a pirate or some other ne'er-do-well, but his demeanor didn't match his intimidating appearance, as he sat with his hands folded on the Pai-Sho board, humming absently to himself.

Lowering her hood as well, Korra pushed past a particularly nasty looking woman with a sword and an axe on her belt, each of which bore suspicious reddish-brown stains along their blades.

"Excuse us," Asami apologized to the woman, then hurried up next to Korra, who was heading straight for the man at the Pai-Sho table. "You know him?" she asked the waterbender in a hushed tone.

She shook her head. "Nope."

"Then what are you doing?"

"You'll see," Korra replied cryptically, giving her nervous girlfriend a knowing smile before sitting down confidently in front of the Pai-Sho table opposite the tattooed man. "Up for a game?"

The man smiled almost cheerfully. "Of course." He slid a stack of tiles to Korra. "Guest moves first."

Asami stared in confusion as Korra sorted through the stone tiles. Here they were, trapped in the past and on the run from a tyrannical empire that would probably kill them as soon as capture them, and Korra was playing board games. And she didn't even like Pai-Sho.

_And she's not very good at it, either, _Asami observed as Korra slid the white lotus tile to the center of the board, a completely wasted opening move.

The large man's smile widened. "I see you favor the white lotus gambit," he mused, though it sounded strangely rehearsed. "Not many still cling to the ancient ways." He ended his little address with a strange gesture, putting his wrists together with his palms upturned.

Korra returned the gesture. "Those who do can always find a friend."

Evidently that was the counter the man had been expecting. He set a tile on the board and Korra mirrored the move on her side. Asami suspected she knew what was going on at this point, but simply watched as more pieces clicked across the board and the two players quickly constructed an eight-pointed shape along the edges, forming a rough approximation of a lotus flower.

The gruff but apparently friendly man at the table stood and gave Korra a bow. "Welcome, sister. The White Lotus opens wide to those who know her secrets. Please, follow me."

Korra gave Asami an apologetic look as she followed him past the bar and into a back room. "Sorry, they're pretty strict about the whole 'members only' thing. Just wait out here, I shouldn't be long."

"Alright then," Asami replied, a little disappointed. She had rather been looking forward to getting a look at the inner workings of the secret society, but she certainly didn't want to cause a scene. Picking a stool as far from the seedy looking characters as she could, Asami took a seat at the bar and drew the bartender's attention.

"Afternoon, miss. Any friend of the Lotus is welcome here. What can I get you?"

"Just tea please."

Asami waited semi-patiently for Korra to return, keeping a nervous eye on the Silver Dragon's other patrons. She tried her best to look as though she were just a weary traveler sitting down for a cup of tea, and the mud caked on her boots and around the hem of her cloak helped that effect, but even so, with her modern clothes, well-kept hair, and full set of teeth, she couldn't help but stand out.

Fortunately, none of the other customers seemed to mind, far more interested in arguing with one another than picking on an unarmed stranger, and only occasionally casting a wary glance in her direction. _They probably think I'm a bender, _she realized, noting that she was the only customer not carrying any weapons. _I'm certainly dressed like I'm from the Fire Nation, I must look like an off-duty soldier_. Asami wasn't exactly pleased with being mistaken for a brutal oppressor, but at least it allowed her to enjoy her tea in peace.

Her respite didn't last long.

"… I heard they took down three of the Yuyan archers, just the two of them!"

"Nah, don't be stupid. The Yuyan archers once held up an entire Earth Kingdom division, there's no way a couple of teenagers took 'em down."

Asami stiffened as she processed what the tavern's most recent arrivals were discussing. Casually tuning her head to avoid drawing attention, she spied a trio of men with short, neat haircuts and well-trimmed beards, definitely from the Fire Nation. No doubt these were genuine off-duty troops.

"They did, I tell you!" the largest of the men shouted, "Just got word from Pohuai today, sounds like Colonel Shinu's furious."

Asami gulped down the last of her tea; if she was a known fugitive, it probably wasn't a good idea to be hanging around soldiers. It was doubtful they'd recognize her face, but better safe than sorry. She slid a few copper pieces to the barkeep to pay for the tea.

"How long do you think they'll be?"

The man shrugged. "No way to know for sure."

Asami glanced again at the soldiers, who still hadn't taken notice of her. "Okay. If they finish before I get back, tell my friend that I stepped out for a bit."

It didn't take Asami long to find the town's noticeboard, where any new bounties would be posted. Sure enough, there they were, two fresh pieces of parchment tacked up in the middle of the board and offering a substantial sum for each of them. The depictions were rough, but they were good enough that a careful observer would be able to identify them. Despite her predicament, Asami couldn't help but marvel at the Fire Nation's efficiency. It wasn't even three days ago that Korra had intervened with the guard harassing Jaya, and already there were wanted posters.

The sound of wet footsteps in the mud drew Asami's attention away from the posters and towards the cloaked but familiar figure approaching her.

"Hey 'Yasuko'," Korra greeted with a cheerful wink, "What'cha find?"

Asami pulled one of the posters from the board and handed it to Korra. "Did you see those troops in the bar? I overheard them talking. It seems we're getting a bit of a reputation."

"Oh, nice! My very own Fire Nation wanted poster!" The waterbender studied the image, angling it to catch the light of a nearby lantern. "Not the best picture, but I guess you can't really blame them. At least they got the face right." She held up the picture next to her head for comparison. The poster showed her with a very traditional Water Tribe hairstyle, complete with hair loops and a tight braid, but other than that it was a good likeness. She lowered it again, folding it up and stuffing it into a pocket in her cloak. "Wait till I show Tenzin. He's gonna flip."

Asami stared at her grinning girlfriend in wonderment. "Korra, you do realize this is a _bad _thing right? Every soldier and bounty hunter in the city is going to be looking for us."

"Yeah, I know," Korra shrugged, "but I get to have a little fun, don't I? Besides, we're halfway home already. We won't have to worry about Fire Nation soldiers for much longer."

"Then you figured out a plan with your White Lotus friend? Are we still stealing a ship?" Asami glanced nervously at the colossal battleship in the harbor.

"Yat-Sen. And yes, we're stealing a ship." Korra followed Asami's gaze to the docks. "Not _that _one, obviously. But there's a scout ship that's scheduled to stop for supplies in a couple days, and we should be able to take it. It's small, fast, and doesn't need a big crew. Should be perfect." She turned back the way she came, "Come on, Yat-Sen offered to let us stay in a hidden room at the Silver Dragon while we wait. I'll tell you all about the plan once we're inside."

"So, you learnt that Pai-Sho thing at the compound?" Asami asked as they walked.

Korra nodded. "Yup. The Fire Nation wasn't exactly fond of the White Lotus during the war, and neither was the Dai Li for that matter, so they had to stay hidden. But they still kept safe-houses and meeting points all across the world, and used Pai-Sho to identify each other. It's still used sometimes, when they need to be sneaky, so my masters made sure I knew the code." She chuckled to herself. "I bet they didn't have _this _in mind when they taught me, though."

"I'll bet not," Asami grinned. She looked to the tavern as they rounded the bend into the little alley. "But how did you know this was the place? We passed lots of buildings just like this one on our way here."

"Look at the sign," Korra said, pointing. "See what the dragon's holding?"

Squinting to see it in the dim light, Asami could just make out that the dragon was clutching a small white lotus flower in one of its claws. "Good eyes," she remarked.

Thankfully, the soldiers had left by the time Korra and Asami returned to the bar, leaving only a few bounty hunters at the tables, most of whom were too drunk to pose any threat even if they did recognize the girls from the new posters. Yat-Sen greeted them warmly, ushering them past the bar and into a dusty cellar. He lifted a keg of ale that was hidden amidst the crates from the ground to pull on a hidden lever concealed behind it. The stone wall at the back of the cellar slid aside, revealing the passage to the room that would serve as the couple's home for the next three days.

* * *

**Author's Note: Hooray for Chapter Three! I hope you guys are having at least a little bit as much fun reading this as I am writing it. We'll be meeting the Gaang properly soon, I promise. As always, reviews are hugely appreciated.**


	4. Chapter 4

The procession making its way through the forests of the northwestern Earth Kingdom was a strange one. It was rare enough to see a pair of waterbenders in this part of the world, especially lone teenagers, but these ones were accompanied by a young monk. One with arrow tattoos running across his body. Should a wanderer happen to have spied them, it wouldn't be the Water Tribe kids they noticed first, nor would it have been the monk. It would be the massive, six-legged bison that followed them into the clearing where two roads met.

"This should give us a good idea what's around here," Katara said as she walked up to a bulletin board in the middle of the crossroads.

Sokka inverted the last of his food pouches over his mouth, but received only a few disappointing crumbs for his efforts. "See if you can find a menu. I'm starving!" He wiped the remaining crumbs from his face, tossing the empty pouch aside.

Jogging up next to Katara, Aang pointed to the largest poster on the news stand. "I bet we could find something to eat here. The Fire Days Festival. Fire Nation cultural exhibits, jugglers, benders, magicians." He read off the attractions then turned to Katara excitedly, "This would be a great place for me to study some real firebenders!"

Sokka called out from the other side of the bulletin board. "You might want to rethink that. Look at this."

Aang rounded the board to come face to face with… himself. "Hey, a poster of me!"

"A _wanted_ poster," Sokka clarified, "This is bad."

Katara followed her friends to see Aang's poster, but was distracted by a more recent notice on the board. "Hey Sokka, look. A waterbender!" Katara pulled the poster of the Water Tribe woman down from the board, reading the bounty info before handing it to her brother. "Do you think this is who we saw in the canoe?"

Sokka examined the poster. "Could be, but it's a bit of a long shot." He looked over the writing at the bottom of the poster, reading it aloud. "Wanted, unidentified Water Tribe woman, believed to be in late teens or early twenties. Highly skilled fighter and powerful waterbender. Five hundred gold each for her and her accomplice, or two hundred gold for information leading to their arrest." Sokka scanned the board, nodding to a poster of a woman with black hair and green eyes. "Must mean her." He resumed reading. "Notify Colonel Shinu at Pohuai Stronghold if sighted, do not engage alone."

He balled up the poster, tossing it to the roadside in a tiny act of defiance. "If that's who we saw, they're probably in prison already. That area was swarming with troops looking for us, no way they got through without being spotted."

"If they didn't make it through why would there still be a poster?" Katara returned, instinctively countering her cynical brother.

Sokka shrugged. "They probably forgot to take it down."

"Whatever." Katara crossed her arms, finished with trying to break her brother's pessimism. She turned back to Aang. "I don't think going to this festival is a good idea. I think we better keep moving."

"I have to learn firebending at some point," Aang pointed out, "and this could be my only chance to meet a master up close."

Katara considered what he was saying. It would definitely be hard to find another master, but it would be hard for the same reason it was risky to venture into a Fire Nation town in broad daylight. Still, they wouldn't defeat the Fire Lord without taking a few risks, so it was worth a shot. "I guess we could go check it out."

Her brother didn't agree. "What? You want to walk into a Fire Nation town when they're all fired up with all their… you know, fire?"

Katara dismissed his concerns. "We'll wear disguises. And if it looks like trouble, we'll leave." She walked back down the road towards Appa as Aang launched high into the air and landed on the sky-bison's back.

"Yeah," Sokka grumbled, "because we always leave before we get into trouble."

* * *

Korra woke early on the day the scout ship was due. She wasn't sure exactly how early, the basement they had been staying in lacked windows, but she knew for sure that it was _too _early. Not that she wasn't anxious to get up and leave; quite the contrary, she was itching to get back out into the fresh the Fire Nation after their heads, she and Asami had hardly left their underground safe-house, and only Asami, who blended in better with the townsfolk, had left the tavern. Their little room was well stocked and unexpectedly comfortable, but it was still confining, especially with her glider staff sitting in the corner, practically begging her to take it for a ride.

As she pulled her sleeveless blue shirt over her head, footsteps echoed down the stairs that led to the main floor of the tavern.

"Everything's all set," Asami said as she ducked into the dimly lit room. "The ship pulled into port fifteen minutes ago. They should be taking on supplies in a couple hours, then leaving around noon." She tossed an empty pouch into her pack. "I gave the rest of our money to Yat-Sen, I hope that's alright. He's really sticking his neck out for us, and paying off the vegetable merchant wasn't cheap. I didn't feel right not leaving him anything in return."

"Yeah, that's fine," Korra replied as her head poked through the neck of her shirt. "We can just trade for the stuff we take from the ship once we get to the tribe, and we probably won't be staying for too long."

While Korra knelt on the ground, struggling to get her arms through the sleeve-holes of her tight shirt, Asami leaned down and placed a quick kiss on her forehead. "Good morning."

The Avatar smiled sleepily back up at her. "Morning."

Her shirt finally in place, Korra floated back up to her feet on a little vortex of air and stretched, her fingertips brushing the low dirt ceiling. She cast another longing glance at her glider. It would be so easy; all she had to do was grab it, dash outside, and take to the air. And then get blown out of the sky by firebenders of course, but it would almost be worth it to experience the total freedom of flight after spending the last several weeks earthbound.

Asami didn't fail to notice the look. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Korra assured her. "Just feeling a bit claustrophobic."

There wasn't much preparation for them to do, so by the time Yat-Sen emerged from the hidden stairwell both girls were anxious to get underway.

"Morning ladies," he greeted with a cheerful smile. It was an amusing sight, seeing a man who looked like he could out-wrestle a platypus bear ducking through a doorway that was barely more than five feet high. Even once he was clear of the door, he occasionally had to lean down to avoid hitting his head on the uneven ceiling. "Are you all set?"

Korra glanced at their gear, which waited next to the mattress that Yat-Sen had brought into the White Lotus meeting room for Korra and Asami to sleep on. "Yeah, all set."

"Excellent!" Yat- Sen clapped his hands together then turned around to call up the stairs, "They're ready Bao, bring the bags!"

"Bags?" Korra asked a bit nervously. She didn't remember bags being part of the plan.

"Bags," Yat-Sen confirmed. "You two caused a bit of a stir when you bested Shinu's archers, and security at the docks has been pretty heavy. Just hiding in the vegetable crates won't be enough, so we're going to be extra thorough." As he finshed, Bao, Yat-Sen's teenage son, arrived in the room carrying three large potato sacks.

"You want us to hide in potato sacks?" Asami asked incredulously, apparently looking forward to the idea of spending the next five hours crammed inside a burlap sack about as much as Korra was. "How do you expect us to get out?"

"Ah, right. Almost forgot." Yat-Sen patted down his coat, reaching inside to produce a pair of straight bladed steel daggers, the fair-sized blades looking like small kitchen knives in his enormous hand. He handed them to Korra and Asami. "You'll need these."

"Other than the bags, the plan hasn't changed," Bao said as he stuffed Korra and Asami's bags into one of the three potato sacks. "Once you're out at sea, wait half an hour or so, then cut your way out. You should be able to bust out of the crate fairly easily after that."

Yat-Sen nodded in agreement then turned back to Korra and Asami. "A few of the soldiers stopped by the tavern earlier, looking to buy some ale. We offered them some 'free samples,' mixed with a few local herbs. They should be out until this evening, and the Fire Navy isn't going to wait around for stragglers. Should make your lives a bit easier when you take the ship." He placed his hands on his hips, still smiling.

Bao picked up the sack containing the girls' gear under one arm, carrying Korra's staff in the other hand. "I'll go put your stuff in the crate. I'm pretty good at moving around unseen, so I'll put this," he held out Korra's staff, "in the ship's armory. They shouldn't notice it there."

As Bao left, Yat-Sen turned once more to the girls. "I guess it's time to get underway." He put his fist against his palm and gave a small bow. "Yasuko, Izumi, it's been a pleasure to have you as my guests. I wish you all the best on your journey northward, and I hope we meet again."

"So do we," Asami said as she and Korra returned the bow. "And thank you again for everything you've done for us."

Korra stepped into her sack, pulling the rough cloth over her head for Yat-Sen to fasten. He hoisted the Avatar into the air, carrying her over his shoulder, and headed up the stairs.

"Ow!" Korra flinched as her head knocked into what she could only assume was the low doorframe of the hidden meeting room.

"Sorry."

Korra rapidly decided that being hauled around like a sack of potatoes was just about her least favorite way to travel. Fortunately the journey to the docks was short, and it wasn't long before she was resting against the wooden wall of a supply crate. She was joined shortly after by several genuine sacks of potatoes, just for effect.

The crate was closed up and began to move, but not for long, as it was set down again shortly after, raised voices coming from outside.

"Hold it!" One of the Fire Nation guards at the docks shouted at the two workers carrying Korra's crate. He gestured at the crate with his sword. "Spot check, you know the drill."

The workers, who were in Yat-Sen's employ, traded nervous glances, but kept their cool. This wasn't the first crate that had been searched today, and so long as their 'cargo' stayed quiet, there wouldn't be a problem.

As they lowered the crate to the ground, the first worker spoke up, addressing the guard calmly. "Of course, sir." He stepped aside, allowing the guard to wedge his sword under the crate's lid and pry it open.

Prodding and shifting a few of the sacks with the tip of his sword, the soldier went about his less-than-thorough search. Just as he was about to lower the lid, he changed his mind. There were fugitives on the loose after all, so it wouldn't hurt to double check.

He moved as if to return his sword to its scabbard, then suddenly turned about, thrusting the weapon into a random sack of potatoes. The blade bit into something soft but firm, like flesh, and the soldier gave a satisfied grin. He was definitely getting a promotion today. Pulling the sword through the fabric he split the bag along its length to reveal… nothing but potatoes.

With a disappointed sigh the guardsman withdrew his sword from the crate, removing the potato he had impaled and tossing it back into the crate. "Alright, move along," he grumbled, waving the dock workers away before walking over to inspect the next crate. Maybe this one would prove more interesting.

As Yat-Sen's men sealed her crate again, Korra silently released the breath she had been holding. She was near the bottom of the pile, but loose potatoes offered little resistance against a steel blade, and the soldier wouldn't have had to cut too deep to draw a noticeable amount of blood. Thankfully, he hadn't even made it through the first layer.

She felt everything around her tilt as they made it onto the gangplank, then tilt again as they descended into the ship's hold. After a few more minutes, the crate was placed on the metal floor.

"They'll be casting off in two hours or so," one of Yat-Sen's men whispered through a gap between the boards. "Give it at least half an hour after that before you break out. Good luck!"

Those next two hours seemed to drag on forever. There were only so many shapes one could bend a dagger blade into before that lost its appeal, and with no one but the potatoes for company, Korra had nothing to do but wait anxiously and try not to let the confinement get to her.

By the time the ship set sail Korra was about ready to burst.

Of course, their departure offered no reprieve, and, if anything, added to the tension as crewmen hustled through the corridors, going about their various tasks as they got underway. As the ship rolled across the choppy northern waters Korra gave silent thanks to the spirits that she wasn't one to get sea sick, or this already uncomfortable position would have gotten much worse very quickly.

After waiting what she hoped was a long enough stretch of time, she returned the dagger to its original shape (or as best she could approximate in the darkness) and cut herself free of the burlap. Pulling her legs in to her chest, she kicked outward with all her strength, slamming her feet against the wooden wall of her crate to tear it free of its fastenings. The panel exploded across the room, joined immediately after by the Avatar and a small avalanche of root vegetables.

Korra took a moment to enjoy several lungfuls of new air. Under any other circumstances she would have found the metallic air in the bowels of a Fire Nation warship stale and suffocating, but given where she had spent the last few hours it was a glorious change for the better.

With a quick glance around the room, Korra's relief gave way to nervousness as she noticed a very important person was missing.

"Asami?"

Met with only the distant growl of the engines, Korra's unease began to grow into panic. Korra had made it through the searches alright, but what if Asami had been caught by the Fire Nation? She could be chained up in a dungeon right now, while Korra was miles away on a ship full of firebenders and unable to aid her.

"Asami?" She asked the supply room again, more urgently. "Are you here?"

No reply was forthcoming, and Korra silently cursed herself for her carelessness. She should have knocked, or should have tried to say something, anything to make sure that Asami had gotten past the guards. If something had happened to her, Korra would never forgive herself.

Korra called into the storeroom again, and the knot in her chest loosened as she was able to discern a muffled thumping from somewhere in the room. There may have also been words, but they were too distant and muted to make out.

"Where are you? There's a lot of boxes in here." The banging resumed, and Korra held up a ball of flame for light, scanning over the stacks of crates and trying to locate the source of the sound. It seemed to be coming from a stack of crates in the corner of the hold.

Korra gripped one of the wooden boxes and heaved it aside, knocking on the side of the crate at the bottom of the stack. "Asami? You in here?"

"Yeah Korra, it's me," came the muffled reply. "Could you get me out? I'm not in a good position."

"You got it." Korra stood, glanced quickly at the door to make sure the coast was clear, then pulled out her dagger and jammed it into the top of the crate, sticking it into the seam between two panels. She gave the blade a twist to pry open a gap, but the boards remained stubbornly in place. Withdrawing her weapon, Korra shifted tactics and took a wide stance, arms extended. The crates were held together with heavy nails, so if she could just find them maybe she could… there they were. Reaching out with her metalbending, she pulled her arms back to rip the iron spikes straight out of the wood, allowing the crate's wall to fall free.

Asami slid out of the crate head first, her face bright red.

She rolled over to push herself from the deck, kneeling for a moment to let the blood rush from her head. "When we get out of here," she grumbled, rubbing her temple, "I am going to find the sailor that stacked those crates and we are going to have a lengthy discussion about spatial orientation."

Korra held out a hand to help Asami to her feet, earning an appreciative smile. Despite their situation that smile was enough to give Korra pause, so when Asami stretched and flipped her hair, which was somehow still perfect, the Avatar went more than a little weak at the knees. The next thing she knew she was wrapping her arms around Asami's waist and pulling her in for a tender kiss.

Asami was a bit surprised by the sudden outburst of affection, but she certainly wasn't going to complain. She wrapped her arms around Korra's shoulders, thumbs making little circles across the southerner's back. As Korra rested her chin on Asami's shoulder, she shook softly, almost like she was laughing. Asami listened. She was. She was trying to hide it, but Korra was laughing.

Asami leaned back and narrowed her eyes at the amused Avatar. "What's so funny?"

"I'm sorry," Korra chuckled, keeping her voice low. They were stowaways, after all. "Were you upside-down the whole time?" Asami nodded, pursing her lips. "Wow. And I thought I had it bad."

"Yeah, well I actually–" Whatever Asami was about to say next was interrupted by the stiff creak of the door to the hold being unlatched.

In an instant the two girls vanished from sight, ducking down behind the crates before the door could swing open. Korra peered around her box towards the door. There was only one soldier, and he hadn't spotted the broken crates yet. But if he continued the way he was going, it wouldn't be long until he did.

She cast a glance at Asami, who jerked her head towards a barrel by the door, silently mouthing the word "water." With a quick nod of recognition, Korra rolled out from behind the crate and the barrel exploded, the water arcing around Korra then rushing straight for the unwitting crewman. She curved it upwards as it connected to knock him off balance, then looped it back around to send it crashing into his chest, freezing him to the wall.

Leaving the soldier to his icy prison, Korra poked her head out the door, checking to ensure no one had heard the brief but noisy altercation. The sound of tearing fabric came from the storeroom and a moment later Asami emerged, electrified gauntlet at the ready.

* * *

Several decks above, the captain of the Fire Navy destroyer, a stern man by the name of Daichi, paced the bridge with an irritable scowl plastered firmly across his face. Not an hour before they had left port, he had received a messenger hawk bearing new orders from the recently promoted Admiral Zhao. The Admiral was ordering all ships near the northern Earth Kingdom colonies to join some new fleet he was amassing, no doubt to make yet another attempt at capturing the Avatar.

Zhao's fascination with spirits, including the Avatar, and ancient lore was well known among the ranking Navy officers, and it was tolerated as an eccentricity. Lately though, that fascination had grown into fanatical obsession, and Daichi wanted no part of it.

Unfortunately the Fire Lord took anything concerning the Avatar very seriously, and Zhao had shot up through the ranks, rising from commander to admiral in less than three years. That meant that Daichi was now under his command.

The captain was drawn suddenly from his thoughts as the door to the bridge swung open and Lieutenant Sora, his second in command, burst through.

"Sir! Intruders have taken the hold and the fourth deck!"

Daichi's scowl deepened. He turned to the lieutenant, noting a small bruise next to her eye. Not many people could get the drop on Sora. "How many?" he asked flatly, not allowing any of his mounting frustration to spill through into his voice.

The lieutenant caught her breath and stood to attention. "At least two, sir; one waterbender and one non-bender."

Daichi's eyebrow twitched with rage. He was about to whirl on the on the lieutenant and demand to know how two stowaways, one of whom wasn't even a bender, could have possibly taken control of a fourth of his ship before anyone noticed, but his attention was drawn instead to a sudden flurry of motion outside.

A woman in blue sprang out onto the deck and was immediately set upon by the three firebenders on duty. They attacked with all the ferocity that their captain demanded of his crew, but to no avail. The Water Tribe woman moved just like her element, spinning gracefully around the first blast of fire sent her way before leaping clear over the second. She turned in the air, using the rotation to pull a wave of water up over the edge of the ship and onto the deck. The water gathered in front of her where she twisted into a spire and froze it, lifting Daichi's men high off the deck and holding them securely in place.

The captain turned to his second. "Take a couple of men, get down to the engine room. You know what to do." Sora hesitated for a moment, only furthering her captain's anger. "Don't question my orders. Move!" The intruders may defeat the crew, but Daichi wasn't going to let them have his ship.

The lieutenant stiffened at the scolding and gave a sharp nod. "You two, with me," she barked at the two other crewmen on the deck, who followed her from the bridge and towards the engine room.

As the sounds of battle drew closer to the bridge, Daichi cracked his neck, embracing his anger and letting the power it brought him burn through his veins. He was a firebender, and his rage was his strength. The Water Tribe had picked a bad day to try and take his ship.

He paused in confusion for a moment, though, when the young waterbender from outside stepped onto the bridge. And she _was_ young, Daichi noted with some surprise. After the display he had witnessed outside, the Fire Nation captain had expected to face an experienced master, but the girl standing in front of him couldn't be much more than twenty years old.

Daichi did observe, however, that despite her youth, the girl was clearly a powerful bender. It was written in her relaxed but expert stance, and on her face, which showed no hint of fear or injury. A ship crewed by twenty of the Fire Nation's finest, and she didn't have a scratch.

"Stand down," The girl said confidently. "I don't want to hurt you or your crew, but I need your ship."

"Never," Daichi snarled in reply, punctuating his denial with a burst of fire aimed for the young woman's face. The waterbender easily stepped out of the attack's path and gave a sigh of what sounded like exasperation.

Creating two dagger-like jets of flame beneath his fists, Daichi dove in to fight in close quarters hoping to prevent her from accessing the large water skin slung across her back. He pressed forward with an aggressive swing at her face, followed by a quick swipe across her torso, but neither attack landed. Instead, she leaned out of the first strike's reach, then spun to the side to step clear of the second, emptying her water skin as she turned.

Daichi followed her as she moved, intending to catch her as she came out of her spin. But before he could hurl a blow, the water from her pouch wrapped firmly around his ankle, pulling his leg out from underneath him and hurling him onto the steel floor.

With an angry grunt the proud firebender leapt to his feet, delivering a two fisted punch to vaporize his elusive opponent, but she was already in motion. When the flames dispersed, the waterbender was nowhere in view, but the sudden blast of frigid water to his back told Daichi exactly where she was. He whirled on her, stepping back to hurl a blast of fire, but she sprang away again, jumping into the air and kicking off the wall to avoid the attack and ready her counter, a heavy punch that sent her watery weapon crashing straight into the captain's face.

Daichi saw red. He launched into a blistering flurry of attacks, the air shimmering from the heat, but none of his blows hit home. The waterbender kept in constant motion, weaving between his flames, her deceptively fast spins and leaps always taking her out of harm's way. This only fueled the captain's rage, and he rushed in again, only to have that same infuriating mass of water knock him to the ground once more.

"I know your game, savage," Daichi growled as he staggered to his feet. The tiniest hint of a smirk played at the corner of the waterbender's mouth. The captain could feel a weary ache begin to creep into his muscles, and knew he wouldn't be able to keep up the fight against his much younger opponent for much longer. "You think you can wear me down, but you only waste your own time." He gave a groan as he stood upright and the girl's smile vanished, replaced by a look of what almost appeared to be sympathy.

"You can still surrender. I'm not trying to attack you, I just want to get home." Her tone was genuinely warm and open, but the enraged captain heard only condescension. With a renewed anger, Daichi threw another blast of flame, and this one made contact, giving Daichi the moment he needed to struggle to the console and shout into the speaker.

"Do it!"

* * *

Asami planted her gloved hand into the engineer's back and he dropped to the floor. She glanced around the engine room. Its engineers and two guards lay unconscious on the floor, fallen prey to her deadly skills and ever-so-useful glove. Their armor usually offered them sturdy protection, but it had rater worked against them when confronted with an electrical weapon.

The engines themselves roared away happily, designed to practically run themselves. Asami could have probably spent all day admiring their ingenuity, but there were bound to be more firebenders about, so she didn't have time to kill. Sure enough, an unfamiliar woman's voice came from behind her.

"So that's how you did it." Asami turned on the balls of her feet to see a Fire Nation woman in full officer's armor and helmet standing in the doorway, flanked by two lower ranking crewmen. The firebender continued, eyeing Asami's glove. "The rumors said you used some kind of spirit magic to knock people out with a touch."

"But you didn't believe them?" Asami countered, trying to keep the woman talking. She wanted a moment to study her opponent, learn a bit about the firebenders from their stance and gait, and possibly their personality. Most notably, the soldier's eyes kept darting towards a specific section of pipes and valves. Whatever she had come down here for, it wasn't to capture Asami.

The firebender shook her head. "I'm not especially superstitious. I figured you had some trick, and it seems I was right." She nodded to Asami's glove.

"Seems so," Asami responded absently. She had seen what she needed to, and knew there was no point in trying to argue, so she readied her weapon, bringing her hands up in front of her chest in a ready stance.

The Fire Navy officer nodded to her underlings, who immediately set upon Asami, while the officer herself darted for the machinery. Asami moved to intercept her, but was cut off by a line of flames from the other two soldiers.

Asami turned about, stepping around the first man's blast of flames to place her palm on his chest, shocking him to the ground. The second firebender was quicker, and was able to evade Asami's attack, returning with a low counter, but Asami moved even lower, ducking under the flames to grab him around the ankle. Her glove did the rest.

An angry voice shouted from a tube overhead, "Do it!"

Across the room, the officer hastily turned a valve. Asami couldn't tell what she was up to without a bit more study, but it stood to reason that it was something bad. She dashed towards the other woman, but her feet clanged loudly across the steel deck plates. The officer turned at the sound and swung her arms across her chest to send a rippling curtain of fire towards Asami, forcing the young engineer to dive for cover.

That gave the officer the time she needed, and she threw a final lever before coming about to face Asami. Asami was ready for a firebending attack, but instead the officer hunkered down and charged, slamming her armored shoulder into Asami's gut. The two toppled to the ground, and in the confusion, Asami felt her glove pulled from her hand.

She rolled away from the firebender and sprang to her feet; she was quite capable of fighting without her glove. Easily avoiding the bender's blast, Asami launched into a complex fighting maneuver, using her wrists to parry several punches from the firebender and send the fire they produced harmlessly aside, then countering with a low sweep to throw her laden rival to the ground.

Using the moment's reprieve to better arm herself for fighting an armored target, Asami picked a wrench up from the ship's unconscious engineer. She feinted high and the firebender brought her arms up to defend her head. Shifting the strike lower, Asami slammed the wrench into the right shoulder of the armor, which dented under the blow. The well-crafted plates were designed to slide neatly over each other, so their sudden reshaping caused them to lock up, rendering the arm immobile.

This left a massive opening on what Asami had observed was the bender's strong side, and she took advantage. The helmet rang dully as the wrench struck it and the Fire Navy officer dropped almost comically to the ground.

Already wielding the appropriate tool for the job, Asami turned back to the engines, surveying the damage.

* * *

Back on the bridge, Korra's plan was working. She felt a little bad for the ship's captain; after Amon, Zaheer, and Kuvira, she knew how frustrating it could be to fight an opponent that relied on dodging and countering. At the same time, she found his fighting style a touch unnerving. She knew that firebending during the Hundred Year War was driven by anger, but seeing it first hand, witnessing the pure fury in the captain's eyes, she was very glad she had never been taught to firebend this way.

It was working to her advantage, though. Relying on waterbending, she was turning his own strength against him, and in his frustrated rage he was wearing himself out. She hadn't escaped entirely unscathed; there were a couple burns to her shoulder and arms that would need tending to later, but the firebender was looking much worse. His neat beard was disheveled, he had several bruises and scuffs from his numerous falls, and he was soaking wet. The Avatar could have killed him on at least two occasions during their fight, but that wasn't why she was here.

Seeing him stumble as he came out of his latest attack, Korra decided it was time to end the fight. Korra dropped her water at his feet and the firebender, too preoccupied with his offense to notice the obvious ploy, struck out with a burst of fire aimed straight between her eyes. Rather than jumping back Korra dropped to the ground, coming under the ferocious attack, and spun around behind the firebender to drive her heel into the back of his exposed knee.

Korra came around him again as her opponent dropped, twisting as she stood to pull the water on the ground up into the captain's chest. The water carried him with it as it rose, slamming him into the ceiling before letting him drop back to the ground. His retaliation was cut short as he was flung through the air again, forced up against a wall and suddenly surrounded by ice, rather than water.

Taking a moment to catch her breath, Korra glanced around the bridge. Asami had said that these old ships had a type of communications system, and it didn't take her long to find it. After a minute of fumbling around she managed activate it, though she had no idea how it operated without electricity.

"Hello? Is this thing working?" She spoke into an opening that looked a little bit like a phone receiver, and her voice reverberated through the entire ship of unconscious firebenders.

A reply came from a small opening at the corner of the control console. "Yeah, Korra, it's on. Try switching it to talk directly to engineering. There may still be firebenders around."

Korra glanced at the console, which was covered in vaguely labeled dials and switches. "And how do I do that?" She had enough trouble with Satomobiles, but these were entirely unfamiliar to her.

"There should be a switch that says engineering."

And so there was. Feeling a little dumb, Korra flipped the switch upwards and a series of ratcheting sounds emanated from the speaking tube as the clockwork system rearranged itself. "There we go. Can you still hear me?"

"Yeah, I can still hear you."

"Is something wrong down there? A lot of the dials here are pointing to the red," Korra said into the tube, keeping a wary eye on the vessel's semi-conscious commander.

"Yeah, one of the soldiers did something to the engines, I'm trying to fig– Hold on." The next thing Korra heard was the sound of a sword being drawn and footsteps across the metal plates. Korra waited patiently, glancing outside to check the position of the sun. It was low in the sky, but they were so far north that all she could tell was that it was daytime. There were a series of soft impacts followed by the crackling of electricity and one final thud as something heavy dropped to the floor. Asami's voice came once again from the speaker. "Right, anyway, like I was saying, they did something to the engines that shut them down.

"Can you fix them?" Korra asked, already knowing the answer.

"I'm insulted," Asami replied. "But I could do with your bending. Some of the components are broken."

Korra nodded. "Got it. I'll be right down."

She turned from the console and was about to leave the bridge when the sound of cracking ice drew her attention. Free of his confinement, the captain dropped to the ground, taking a breath to prepare one last attack.

The captain was fast, rising to his feet in a heartbeat, but Korra was faster and the firebender looked up just in time to see a hide boot connect with his face, then crumpled to the ground.

"Sorry 'bout that," Korra apologized, grunting as she lifted the heavily armored captain over her shoulders. "But you didn't give me much of a choice." She hauled the unconscious firebender from the bridge and headed down towards the lifeboats.

By the time Korra had loaded the unconscious crew onto the lifeboats, sent them on their way, and made it back to the engine room, Asami was already hard at work on the engines. The Avatar was no engineer, but she knew enough to know that the torn metal and burst pipes didn't bode well.

"What happened?" she asked Asami, though the answer seemed pretty obvious.

The engineer looked up from the pipes she was unfastening. "There may have been… an explosion," she said flatly. Korra detected just a hint of embarrassment in her tone.

"What?" Korra looked quickly around for some water in case Asami was injured. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Asami grunted as she strained with a particularly tight bolt holding a busted pipe in place. "The engine, not so much. Hold this."

A piece of piping was placed in Korra's arms. "Can you fi – I mean, can it be fixed?"

"Nope. Completely totaled," Asami said as she handed Korra another piece of twisted steel. "But if we're clever, we may be able to fake it. I should be able to work around the broken system and get the engines turning, but we won't be going very quickly."

"I don't get it," Korra said over the growing pile of metal in her arms. "Why would they do this to their own ship?"

Asami sheepishly scratched the back of her head with her wrench. "It might be a little my fault. I was trying to figure out what they did, so I diverted the steam through an emergency release to get a safe look. The release was blocked, and it blew before I could stop it."

Korra knew she shouldn't tease, but her big mouth got the better of her. "Wow. Who would have thought the genius of Asami Sato would be defeated by an antique steam engine." She hung her head in dramatic sadness. "It is a tragic day indeed."

"Shut up." Yup. She was definitely going to pay for that later. "Not my fault some engineer was too dumb to properly maintain a safety release."

Asami leaned back to look across the engine. "You know, we're actually pretty lucky. Most of these ships were decommissioned and dismantled after the war to fund the reparations. I've never gotten to see one intact before." She glanced at the damaged section of engine in front of her. "Well, mostly intact."

What followed came as an excited stream of detailed description and technical jargon, mixed with a bit of a history lesson. Parts of it Korra actually understood, the general idea behind a steam engine wasn't too complicated, but most of the finer details went over her head.

"…but people just called him the Mechanist. The man was an absolute genius; he practically invented the modern age…"

Korra smiled distractedly at Asami as the engineer continued her animated description. She wasn't bored, in fact she was genuinely interested. Some of Asami's passion for these sorts of things had rubbed off on the Avatar. For the most part it just made her happy to see Asami getting so excited about the things she was passionate about. As Asami looked expectantly at her, Korra realized she had been caught staring.

"What is it?" Asami asked.

Korra's smile widened. "Nothing. Keep going."

Asami brushed a wayward strand of hair from her face and returned to her animated explanation. "Oh, right. Well, the Mechanist didn't technically build the first airship, but it was based on one of his smaller prototypes…"

* * *

As Asami predicted, much of the damage to the engines had been irreparable, even with Korra's metalbending. Her ad hoc workaround had gotten them moving, but the once swift scout ship now puttered along at barely half speed. Fortunately the currents had worked in their favor, and by the fifth night of their voyage icebergs had begun to dot the horizon. By the next morning, they had reached the mainland, though the tribe itself was nowhere to be seen.

Asami stretched as she stepped out onto the deck, then quickly shrank back down at the cold. She had set a course that ran parallel to the coastline and a bitter wind spilled over the high cliffs and out across the water.

With a quick scan of the deck, Asami spotted Korra leaning against the railing at the side of the boat. She was wearing her fur-lined parka, though that alone didn't look like it ought to be enough to protect against the frigid temperatures. She also didn't seem to have heard Asami emerge from the ship's interior, so the engineer crept quietly up behind her, slipping her arms around Korra's waist and resting her chin on her shoulder.

"Hey beautiful," Asami mumbled from her perch on the Avatar's shoulder.

Two (implausibly warm) hands curled around Asami's. "Hey yourself." Asami could _feel _the smile in Korra's voice and reveled in the warm fog that filled her chest at the sound.

Asami disentangled herself from her girlfriend and stepped to the side, coming to lean against the railing next to her. "You're up early. Feeling restless?" Korra had not enjoyed the cramped quarters on the ship, and spent a great deal of time patrolling the skies on her glider, but once they had entered waters patrolled by the Water Tribe, they had agreed it was best that Korra not be spotted airbending.

"A little," Korra hummed. "We should be arriving soon, but you were sleeping, so I didn't want to wake you."

Asami stared out across the water, taking in the stark, crystalline beauty of the North Pole. The mainland itself was just coming into view, and the icy crags glimmered in the sunlight, presenting a frozen spectacle that was at once threatening and stunning. It was a welcome sight after six days of almost nothing but ocean.

At her left, another beautiful view stared back at her, a dopey smile plastered across her face.

Asami gave a little smirk, cocking an eyebrow. "What?"

"Just thinking about how lucky I am."

Asami replied with a kiss to the waterbender's forehead. "Must have done something good in a past life."

Korra grinned. "Guess I must have." A dark-skinned hand found its way back onto Asami's, fingers wrapping around the back of her palm. They were about to lean in for another kiss when the deck, no, the whole ship, lurched upwards. Jagged talons of ice rose up past the edged of the deck, lifting the vessel out of the water at an odd angle that sent both girls stumbling.

"I think we're here," Korra smirked, glancing at the flat boats lined with men in blue that had appeared from behind the icebergs.

* * *

**Author's Note: Sorry for the delay, this chapter took a while to get right. It's also my first attempt at writing a fluff scene, so let me know how that turned out. Don't forget to give feedback, I love hearing what you guys think!**


	5. Chapter 5

Perhaps the splendor of the Northern Water Tribe had faded with time, or perhaps Asami had simply been too young to fully appreciate it on her last trip here, but either way, her memories didn't do the incredible city justice. The architecture was a remarkable blend of hardy practicality and delicate artistry, and it seemed every building, bridge, and canal had been carved from a single piece of opaque ice.

Guided by waterbenders, the small Water Tribe catamaran bearing Korra and Asami floated along one of those canals, moving towards what Asami could only assume was a guardhouse. The waterbenders hadn't attacked them on sight, thankfully, but they hadn't exactly been friendly either. Not that Asami could blame them; she and Korra had arrived in a Fire Nation ship, after all.

They were currently on their way to meet with… someone. The tribesmen hadn't exactly been forthcoming. Asami cast a nervous glance at the hooded and masked warrior next to her, and was met with a steely glare. So far, they had only spoken with Korra, and barely even acknowledged Asami's presence. In fact, Asami suspected that Korra's heritage and the display of waterbending she'd given were the only reason they weren't currently in chains.

The catamaran pulled up next to a small dock and came to a graceful halt. A middle-aged man in more decorated garb approached the craft, a bone machete resting at his hip.

"Morning, Arrluk! Back so soon?" He greeted the leader of the warriors on the boat before noticing Korra and Asami. "Ah, with a catch I see."

"Found these two on an abandoned Fire Nation scout ship about two hours out. Shorter one says she's from the southern tribe," the leader of the raiding party replied, jerking his head towards Korra.

The older warrior on the dock looked over the two girls. "Did she now?" He eyed Asami suspiciously, then turned to address Korra. "And how did you two get on that ship? You couldn't have captured it yourselves. Where are the warriors who took it?"

"_We_ arethe warriors," Asami said indignantly, crossing her arms. "We're perfectly capable of taking out a few firebenders by ourselves."

"That's right," the Avatar agreed. "I'm a waterbender, and Asami's the best fighter you'll ever see."

"I don't thi–"

"And why not, Tullik?" A third man approached the dock with a stern look on his face, cutting the suspicious warrior off mid-protest. "We have our traditions and our sister tribe has theirs. If they allow their women to fight, then these women are warriors." He turned to face Korra and Asami. "Welcome. I am Arnook, Chief of the Northern Water Tribe."

Korra gestured to herself and Asami. "I'm Korra, and that's Asami." She spoke reflexively, forgetting to stop and think up an alias. Not that it was too important. They weren't planning on staying very long, and it wasn't like anyone was going to recognize them.

Arnook nodded to each girl in turn in quiet acknowledgement. "It has been too long since the Southern Tribe visited our home." He considered them a moment, then held out a hand in a welcoming gesture. "We will be holding a feast in celebration of my daughter's sixteenth birthday tomorrow. I would be honored if you would attend, and I would very much like to hear your tale."

Asami went to politely decline, but was cut off by Korra. "We'd love to."

Asami blinked in confusion for a moment at Korra's response before understanding. To flatly refuse the invitation would be incredibly rude, and they needed to be in the chief's good graces. The spirit portal was located in a grove that the tribe revered as sacred, and they would never be allowed entrance to the holy ground without Arnook's blessing.

Still, staying in this time any longer than necessary carried risk, and so they gratefully accepted the chief's offer of accommodations and parted ways. As they followed one of the men into the city, Asami leaned in to ask, "Are you sure about this?"

Korra shrugged. "Not really. But I'd rather not tick off Chief Arnook. Anyway, we'll need a couple days to get ready. Are you still planning to build a sand-sailer?"

"I think this would technically be a snow-sailer," Asami replied blithely. "But yes. Between what we found on the ship and what I can buy here, I should be able to make a sturdier one than last time," she said, referring to the rudimentary sailer she'd made when they were stranded in the desert.

* * *

As Asami found out, building a snow-sailer from scratch was a bit more difficult in this time period. Fortunately the ship had provided Korra and Asami with all sorts of goods to trade, so once she had gotten a feel for the tribe's barter system, she found she could easily afford what she needed. The problem was their remote location. The Northern Water Tribe was a thriving city, but resources were still scarce on the frozen tundra, so many of the supplies Asami needed simply weren't available.

While Asami was looking for materials, Korra meditated in the hostel that Chief Arnook had housed them in. Their plan to return via the Tree of Time was bugging her, but she wasn't sure why. Something about it just felt wrong, and she had learned to trust her instincts on these matters.

_Still, _she thought to herself, _it's not like we've had any better ideas. _Korra had hoped that meditating might grant her some epiphany, but she was having no such luck.

She dropped her head with a resigned sigh and stood, stretching her arms over her head to work two hours of inactivity from her muscles. A glance out the window told her that the sun had already set, but in spring at the North Pole, that happened pretty early in the day. Another quick glance to check that no one outside might be looking in, and Korra punched the air in front of the hostel's fire pit, sending a little burst of flame across the room to the base of the kindling, which flared to life.

"You'll want to be careful who you do that in front of."

Korra nearly jumped out of her skin before she recognized the voice. She turned to face Asami, who stood in the doorway, a playful smirk on her face.

"Nervous, much?" the dark-haired beauty teased.

Korra looked outside once more, checking more thoroughly this time. "Yeah, well, the last thing we want right now is for word to get 'round that I'm a firebender." She turned to warm her hands in front of the fire. "Were you able to find everything you need?"

"Some of it. But there should be a big hunting party getting back tomorrow, so they'll have more stuff then. I did find this, though." Asami slipped her bag off her shoulder and began to rummage through it. Finding what she was looking for, she turned back to Korra and held her arm out, offering a wide loop of blue and white fabric with a triangular pattern. "I saw it in the market and it reminded me of the one you used to wear."

Korra took the cloth armband curiously, but her smile disappeared as she examined it. "Monkey feathers," she grumbled, and Asami's heart sank slightly. She had always assumed that Korra had simply lost the old armband, or discarded it when she started wearing Earth Kingdom clothes to hide her identity. She had never considered that the armband might hold some unpleasant association.

"I'm sorry," Asami apologized, feeling guilty for not having thought the gift through. "I just thought you might like it."

"What? Oh, no, It's not that." She slid the armband over her wrist and worked it up to the top of her long glove, where it fit snugly over her bicep. "This is… it's perfect, really. But I…" Korra trailed off, rushing over to her pack instead of finishing her sentence.

She dug through the pack's contents, and her face fell once more. Reaching inside, she gently pulled something small from the bag, carrying it gingerly over to Asami.

"I got this when we were in Makapu," She explained, holding out a slightly wilted black-and-white flower. "The guy in the market said it was a symbol of love, and I was going to surprise you with it and it was going to be all romantic, but now…"

Asami carefully took the flower and tucked it behind her ear. "It's beautiful, Korra. Thank you." It had actually held up remarkably well, considering it had spent the last nine days in a pocket in Korra's pack. And more importantly it was a wonderful gesture, and Asami couldn't help but love the thoughtful gift, droopiness aside.

"You really like it?" Korra asked, the corner of her lip curling up into a hopeful half-smile.

"It's perfect," Asami said with a little smirk. "Really." She stepped in to wrap her arms around Korra and planted a kiss on her cheek, and her smile widened as she was rewarded with a delightful crooked grin.

"Alright then!" Korra beamed, her enthusiasm restored. Her stomach gave a low growl and she chuckled. "Let's go get something to eat. It's been too long since I had some real Water Tribe food."

Asami gave the waterbender a quizzical look. "Korra, we were in the Southern Tribe ten days ago."

"And that's too long!" Korra countered, breaking away and grabbing her parka as she made for the entrance to the hut and jumped out into the gently falling snow.

Korra and Asami laid low the next day. The future Avatar was fairly sure they weren't going to irrevocably alter the course of history by seeing the sights, but Asami had convinced her it was best not to tempt fate. That meant Korra spent the day helping Asami with the snow-sailer, which was coming along nicely.

It also meant that the girls were in their hut preparing for the evening's festivities, completely unaware when three other travelers arrived in the city that afternoon.

"So, what's the plan?" Korra asked, watching her girlfriend from her perch on the windowsill.

Asami closed her makeup compact, dropping it casually into her bag. "What plan?"

"What are we going to say when Chief Arnook asks about us? Shouldn't we come up with some sort of cover?" Korra knew she wasn't a very good liar, so it made sense to come up with some sort of story beforehand.

Asami merely shrugged. "I don't think we need to lie." Korra looked at her questioningly. "I'm saying just we don't tell him everything. Leave out any details about being from the future and don't mention that you're the Avatar, and we should be fine."

"Alright," Korra replied absently. "I guess I'll just follow your lead, just like those fancy banquets back home."

"Except this time there won't be reporters sticking cameras in our faces looking for the latest bit of society gossip."

"I still think you should have let me punch that guy," Korra grumbled, recalling a brief altercation with a particularly nosy reporter that had harassed Asami with questions about her father.

"I appreciate the sentiment," Asami buttoned her jacket, straightening the collar and flipping her hair out from under it, "but that would've given him exactly what he wanted. You know they're just looking for a story that'll sell papers. Now let's go, we don't want to be late."

As it turned out, they were early. Most of the tribe had yet to arrive, and only a were few voices audible over the murmur of the decorative waterfalls that adorned the palace. Korra and Asami entered and were ushered up to the chief's table, where they sat cross-legged and quietly awaited Arnook's arrival, hoping to avoid drawing attention to themselves.

It wasn't long before Chief Arnook arrived as well. To Korra's surprise (and relief) he didn't immediately begin asking them about their adventures. Instead, he greeted them politely and took a seat several spaces down the table, presumably in anticipation of some other guest.

Korra idly scanned the faces of the growing crowd, trying to identify anyone she might recognize from the stories Katara had told her when she was little. Her search was brought to an abrupt halt when a red and gold blur appeared suddenly next to her from out of nowhere. She spun reflexively to the latest guest and started in surprise at the pair of cheerful grey eyes staring back at her.

"Hi! I'm Aang!"

Asami leaned past Korra to see what had just occurred. "Korra, what's goi– " Her eyes locked on the tattooed young monk that had just arrived. "Oh."

"Uh, hi!" Korra replied, a little louder than she had intended. "I'm Korra, that's Asami. It's good to meet you."

"Good to meet you too," the _other _Avatar responded.

Korra leaned over to her girlfriend. "Uh, Asami? Can I talk to you for a minute?" She pulled Asami up from the snowy ground and away from the table, moving out of her past life's earshot. "Now what?"

Asami glanced back to the table, where two teenagers that could only be Sokka and Katara were joining Aang. She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. She paused for a moment, then turned back to Korra. "Alright, nothing's changed. Just stick to what I said earlier and we should be fine."

"You don't know that," Korra countered. She had seen Varrick's movers, she knew what happened to people who messed with time. "What if I touch him, and end the universe or something?"

Asami chuckled, "You need to lay off the movers."

"Fine, but we still don't know what'll happen if I start hanging around my own past life. Or Katara and Sokka for that matter. What if–" Her protest was cut off as a winged lemur landed on Korra's shoulder to sniff curiously at her hair. "Um… hi… Momo." Korra had never seen him before, but really, there was no one else this little guy could be.

Asami watched Korra reach up to scratch him behind the ears. "I think he recognizes you."

"Great." Korra tried to subtly urge the lemur back to his own Avatar, but he was firmly affixed to her shoulder, evidently quite fascinated.

Asami took Korra's hand, pulling her gently back towards the table. "We should be ready to leave tomorrow night, so we'll just be a little careful with what we say tonight. After that we'll never have to see them again."

Korra felt a twinge of disappointment at that. As weird, and potentially disastrous, as talking with Aang might be, she had nothing but fond memories of Sokka and Katara. Hanging out with them while they were still young might be fun. Besides, if anything bad was going to happen from her being in the same room as Aang, it should have happened already.

"I think he likes you," the airbender commented as Korra moved back to her seat with Momo. He gestured to his friends. "This is Sokka and Katara. Guys, meet Korra and Asami." He pointed to the large bison past the end of the table. "And that's Appa, my flying bison."

"How's it going?" Sokka greeted absently as food was placed on the table in front of him. Momo finally released his grip on Korra's bare shoulder and flew off to join Appa.

Katara narrowed her eyes slightly at Korra, leaning around her brother to get a better view. "Wait, are you from the Southern Water Tribe?"

Korra nodded. "Yeah, actually." She glanced at Asami. "Well, I am, she's not."

"Ha!" Katara punched her brother on the shoulder triumphantly. "I told you they survived."

"Wait, what did we survive?" Korra asked, looking to Asami to check that she hadn't missed anything.

"We saw your wanted poster," Katara explained. "We flew over someone from the Water Tribe a while ago, then saw the poster a few days later. Sokka here said that you had been captured."

"Hey, I said they'd _probably _been captured," Sokka defended, waving a half-eaten leg of arctic hen for emphasis.

"Whatever." She looked back to Korra. "Is it true you're a waterbender?"

"Yup," Korra confirmed.

"Hey, maybe you can practice with us!" Aang suggested excitedly. "Katara and I are looking for a master to teach us waterbending. That's why we came to the North Pole."

She actually would have enjoyed that, though she knew the tribe's master would probably be no more willing to train her than he was Katara. But they would figure that whole situation out themselves, no need for Korra to interfere. "I would, but Asami and I are leaving soon. We probably won't be coming back this way for… a while."

Katara looked as though she might have more to say, but Sokka beat her to the punch. "I don't think I recognize you. What village are you from?"

"I don't think it has a name," Korra replied truthfully. 'White Lotus Compound' didn't technically count as a name, did it? "It's pretty isolated, we didn't have much contact with the rest of the tribe. That's probably why we've never met." _That or the fact that I won't be born for more than fifty years, _Korra mused.

"Did you leave with the tribe's warriors?" Katara interjected, jumping back in before her brother could interrupt her again. "Have you seen our dad? Hakoda?"

"Um, no. Sorry, I haven't. Asami and I are on a…" She paused, searching for the right words. "A spiritual journey."

Any further discussion was cut short as Chief Arnook stood to address the tribe. "Tonight, we celebrate the arrival of our brother and sisters from the Southern Tribe. And with them, someone very special, someone whom many of us believed disappeared from the world until now. The Avatar!" The crowd roared in applause.

"We also celebrate my daughter's sixteenth birthday. Princess Yue is now of marrying age!"

As her father introduced her, a young woman in elegant, fur-lined robes stepped forward, approaching the chief's table. Even if Arnook hadn't just introduced her, Korra would have immediately recognized her as Princess Yue. She had never seen the famous princess in person, but the teenager's pure white hair was hard to miss.

The royal spoke to the crowd. "Thank you, Father. May the great Ocean and Moon Spirits watch over us during these troubled times!"

"Now, Master Pakku and his students will perform!" _Pakku, that's his name! _That was the name of the jerk that had refused to teach Katara just because of her gender. If she hadn't been trying to avoid messing up time, Korra might have had a thing or two to say to him.

Aang and Katara watched in amazement as the master waterbender and his students whirled large streams of water around in artful circles, while Princess Yue approached the table near Sokka. He shoved Aang towards Korra. "Scoot over, give the lady some space!" Aang, Korra, and Asami all shunted down a bit and Yue took a seat in the space that opened up. Sokka leaned over as she sat, a cocky grin on his face. "Hi there. Sokka, Southern Water Tribe."

Yue smiled and gave a small bow. "Very nice to meet you."

"So, uhh, you're a princess," Sokka continued not-so-smoothly. "You know, back in my tribe, I'm kinda like a prince myself."

Katara scoffed, deflating her brother's attempt at flirting. "Hah, prince of what?"

"A lot of things! Do you mind? I'm trying to have a conversation here."

At the end of the table Asami leaned in next to Korra, asking quietly, "So does that make you a princess?"

"I… guess?" When Korra thought of princes and princesses, the first people who came to mind were her cousins and Wu. She wasn't overly fond of either of those comparisons. "I've never really thought of myself that way."

"A pity," Asami replied, resting her chin on her hand and whispering into Korra's ear. "I was planning on giving you the _royal treatment_." She leaned back and wiggled her eyebrows flirtatiously.

Korra nearly choked on her food, heat rising in her cheeks as she struggled not to laugh. The look she was giving Korra could melt steel, and certainly Avatars, but they _were _sitting at the front of the room. And in the Northern Water Tribe. Some of its more traditional members might not be so open to the idea of two girls being in a romantic relationship. Especially if they started making out at the chief's table.

She wrapped her hand around Asami's and playfully nudged Asami's shoulder. "Later," she mouthed silently.

* * *

The evening's festivities drew to a close as the tribe dispersed, and the girls returned to their hut. Once she had gotten over the strangeness of seeing her childhood heroes and mentors as children themselves, Korra found Aang and his friends remarkably easy to talk to. She felt a little dishonest, but telling them about the future was out of the question, so she kept the details vague.

Korra and Asami lingered for a while after the feast, finding a secluded overlook from which they could see the entire tribe and the waters beyond. The northern skies were absolutely clear, and the both the quarter moon and the northern lights were reflected in the dark waters of the bay.

Asami's arm wrapped around Korra, and she gently leaned her head against Asami's shoulder. She let out a slow breath, a wave of heat rolling through both girls as Korra firebent. No flames, nothing that would give them away, but enough to fend of the cold for a little while. They stood in silence for a long while, simply enjoying the spectacular view and each other's company.

Part of Korra wished that they could stay in this time longer, take in more of what this earlier world had to offer. And they could do it without harassment from the press, or the pressures of running a company, and without constantly worrying about what the Avatar's brief inactivity might spell for world affairs. Times like this, when she and the girl she loved could simply be alone together, were too rare in Republic City. She was beginning to understand why Aang had chosen to live on his own island.

One way or another though, they would have to go back, and the more time they spent in the past the more they risked changing time. Korra would never forgive herself if her own carelessness brought any more suffering to this already troubled time.

And they were together. Asami would accompany Korra on her trips across the Earth Kingdom whenever possible, and Korra would always help Asami however she could, even if it just meant helping her de-stress after a long day at work. Their lives could be hectic at times, but really, Korra was just happy to be with Asami, whatever the era.

Korra pressed her cheek against Asami and gave a little sigh, knowing that her girlfriend was thinking along the same lines.

* * *

**A/N: Apologies for the wait, but here it is, the moment we've all been waiting for! This one took me a while, the delete key saw quite a lot of use while I was writing it. Between real life shenanigans and some major writer's block, this was a hard chapter to get right. *shrugs* Anyway, back on track now, updates should be coming more regularly from here on out. I love hearing your feedback, so please tell me what you think!**


	6. Chapter 6

Asami awoke to the sound of howling wind. She rolled back over, pressing up against Korra for warmth and trying to go back to sleep, but it was no use. Unlike her girlfriend, who could sleep anywhere, anytime, once Asami woke up, she was up. She slowly rolled onto her back - there was no need to disturb Korra - and opened her eyes.

Propping herself up on her elbows, she looked out the window to see if there was a storm outside, but the skies were clear and the weather seemed pleasant. Unfortunately, the Northern Water Tribe buildings lacked glass, so the window was more of an opening, one through which a frigid draft could slip in to chill the temperately-raised engineer.

Carefully extracting herself from the heavy sleeping bag, Asami moved over to the window, confirming her fears. There was a fierce wind outside, and it hadn't come alone. Dark clouds were visible over the northern horizon, and snow blew over the edges of the cliffs surrounding the tribal city. They had finished their snow sailer the previous night, but going out in this weather would have been suicide in any vehicle, let alone one driven by wind. They would have to wait the storm out.

Asami slipped quickly back into her clothes, not bothering to wait until they needed to leave the house to put on her jacket. It was plenty cold inside. She waited for a time, trying to let Korra wake up on her own. She eventually gave up on that plan and set about the unenviable task of rousing the Avatar.

Once she had finished convincing Korra to get dressed and moving, Asami set out for the chief's palace once more. After a bit of explanation, she and Korra were able to convince the chief to allow them passage to the spiritual grove at the pole. She had to keep her language evasive, they could hardly tell him their real reason for going, but he didn't seem overly concerned. Bonds of trust were strong between members of the Water Tribe, and so the chief was quite willing to grant Korra's request.

They were just about to offer their polite thanks and return to their hut when the sounds of an argument came from the entryway behind them. Korra and Asami stood aside to let Katara storm past them to the chief's dais, where Pakku sat at the chief's side.

"Master Pakku!" she yelled, either too angry or too focused on her own task to notice Korra and Asami. "You have to take Aang back as your student. If you won't teach me, then fine, but you can't dictate what Aang does with what he learns!"

Asami turned to Korra. Clearly she was missing something important to this conversation. "What's going on?"

Korra leaned in, whispering, "Pakku is refusing to teach Aang any more waterbending because he was teaching what he learned to Katara. I think. I only know from the stories Katara used to tell."

"Why doesn't Katara just learn from Pakku _with_ Aang?"

"Because she's a girl."

Asami turned to stare at Korra, her face twisting up in disbelief. It was bad enough women weren't allowed to be warriors, but they weren't even allowed to learn to use their bending? She could hardly believe that any society had functioned that way for so long. Occasionally Asami had faced discrimination because of her inability to bend, but never for her gender.

Korra didn't fail to notice the look. "Stupid, huh?" She turned back to the conversation in front of the dais. "But this helped change all that," she said, nodding to Katara. "Katara proved that was a dumb tradition, so by now, err, the future, there are lots of female waterbenders. From both tribes."

"Korra? Maybe you should lower your voice." Asami was relieved to hear that the Water Tribes had advanced, but right now she had more pressing concerns. Princess Yue, who was seated next to her father, stared at the girls in confusion. Asami wondered how much she had heard.

Korra followed Asami's gaze and immediately hushed up, turning back to face the argument brewing in front of them.

Katara, who had been arguing with Pakku himself, turned to the chief. "You can't let him do that! Aang's the Avatar, he needs a master to teach him waterbending so that he can defeat the Fire Lord!"

The chief shook his head. "What do you want me to do? Force Master Pakku to take Aang back as his student?"

"Yes!" Katara shouted, then softened when she remembered she was talking to the Chief. "Please."

Arnook lowered his head. "I suspect he might change his mind his mind if you swallow you pride and apologize to him."

Katara narrowed her eyes in irritation. She glanced at Aang, shoulders dropping, then turned back to the chief reluctantly. "Fine."

The old master smirked down at Katara. "I'm waiting, _little girl._" Asami gritted her teeth at his demeaning tone and saw Korra fume silently next to her.

Apparently it was enough to push Katara over the edge. Her hands clenched into fists. "No." She swung her arms downwards in anger and the ice floor began to crack. "No way am I apologizing to a sour old man like you!" A pair of nearby pots burst, spilling water across the floor.

Korra's mouth curved up into a smirk and Asami couldn't help but chuckle. She had never pictured Katara as being so quick-tempered. She sounded a lot like a younger version of Korra, although Asami supposed that made sense. Korra grew up around Katara, so she was bound to have been influenced.

"She reminds me of you when you first came to Republic City," Asami whispered to Korra.

Korra's brow furrowed in confusion. "What? She's no–"

"I'll be outside if you're man enough to fight me!"

"Yeah, okay," Korra admitted.

"Oh, come on," Asami teased. "That was almost word for word what you said to Amon when you challenged him to a duel on Memorial Island. Now let's go, we should get back to the hut."

Korra paused, glancing at the small crowd following Katara outside. "Wait, what? Don't you want to watch?"

"Well, yeah, but what's the point? We can't do anything to interfere. Besides, I thought you were the one who was worried about 'blowing up the universe'."

"We won't interfere, we'll just watch," Korra protested, already moving towards the palace entrance in pursuit of the crowds. "Come on, 'Sami, these are the stories I grew up on! Don't you want to see history in the making?"

Asami hesitated for a moment, but she couldn't deny wanting to go see. "Yeah, alright," she conceded, her face breaking into a smile. Her father hadn't been too big on stories about the Avatar, but her mother had been, and they certainly weren't going to get a chance like this again. She followed Korra out into the courtyard, more excited than she cared to admit.

When they joined the growing audience outside, Pakku was walking away from Katara, saying something inaudible but no doubt incredibly condescending. Katara was having none of that and pulled a stream of water from the ground, wielding it like a whip to strike the old man across the back of the head.

"Fine." He turned around, almost smiling. "You want to learn to fight so bad, study closely!"

Katara charged the master as he drew water from a pair of nearby pools, whirling it around and sending it crashing into her. The young bender was hurled from her feet, landing on the ground as Pakku surrounded them both with a ring of rushing water.

Asami winced as the hit landed. If this was just going to be Katara getting pummeled by some old master, she didn't want to see it.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you," Pakku taunted as he tightened the ring, forcing Katara in to closer quarters. She waved her hand and deflected the stream, sending it rushing towards the crowd. Asami stepped aside to let it pass and it crashed straight into Sokka, who was pulled from his feet with a shout.

Katara charged the master again with her whip and he raised an angled wall of ice to impede her. She slid over top of it, landing on a decorative plinth at the base of the stairs. Asami suspected this was exactly what Pakku had been leading Katara towards. He turned in place as she sailed overhead, melting the wall and hurling it towards her. Freezing her feet to the plinth, Katara bent the water around her and tossed it away.

"You can't knock me down!" she shouted defiantly, earning cheers from many of the crowd's younger members.

Korra jumped in place, pumping her fist in the air. "Whoo! Go Katara!"

The young waterbender moved in close, going for several physical strikes against her older opponent. He blocked or dodged most of them, finally countering with a stream of water that hurled the teenager into a pool. Katara emerged and shook out her hair, raising a short pillar of ice in front of her. She slid her hands rapidly back and forth across its smooth top, sending a series of razor sharp discs at Master Pakku.

Asami's eyebrows shot up in mild alarm. That was a very aggressive move; if even one of those discs were to hit home, they could do serious, even fatal, damage. Killing the Northern Tribe's master bender wouldn't ingratiate Katara to the tribe, and it would make it difficult for him to train her or Aang.

Fortunately he survived the assault, deflecting her next attack and disintegrating the snow pillars she attempted to topple onto him.

As the cloud of snow settled, the master took a neutral stance. "Well, I'm impressed. You _are_ an excellent waterbender."

"But you still won't teach me, will you?" Asami couldn't see Katara's face, but she expected the proud young bender wasn't smiling at the reluctant compliment.

"No."

Katara tried again to strike the evasive old man and he dodged her attacks, but as he began his counter a sudden squall blew across the courtyard, interrupting his retaliation. It lifted the master's hood up off his shoulders and over his face while somehow failing to affect Katara at all.

The young but resourceful waterbender quickly took advantage of this apparent good fortune, throwing a stream of water into the older master's chest to send him stumbling backwards. When he whipped the hood down from his face, Pakku's smug expression had been replaced with one of frustration and annoyance.

It could very easily have been a wayward gust of wind, but the too-innocent smile on Korra's face told Asami otherwise. She peeked at Asami out of the corner of her eye. "What?"

"So much for just watching," Asami scoffed, keeping her voice low so that only Korra could hear her. As gratifying as it was to see Katara land a solid hit, it was still probably a bad idea to mess with this fight.

Korra grinned back at her. "I have no clue what you're talking about."

Unable to resist a chuckle, Asami elbowed Korra softly in the side then turned back to the fight. Despite her subtle intervention, Pakku had trapped Katara in a shower of icy spears and was stooping down to collect a necklace.

"This is my necklace…"

"No it's not!" Katara shouted, struggling against the ice that held her in place. "It's mine! Give it back!"

Pakku hardly seemed to notice her. "I made this sixty years ago, for the love of my life. For Kanna." His voice and gaze were distant as he replied.

With its creator distracted, Katara melted her cage, standing upright. "My Gran-Gran was supposed to marry you?"

But the old master was in a world of his own. "We never found out why she left… The week before our wedding she just… disappeared."

The crowds began to disperse and Korra and Asami moved closer, following Aang and Sokka towards the softening conversation. Pakku finally addressed Katara.

"I carved this necklace for your grandmother when we got engaged. I thought we would have a long, happy life together. I loved her."

Katara took a step towards him, a note of pity finding its way into her voice. "But she didn't love you, did she? It was an arranged marriage. Gran-Gran wouldn't let your tribe's stupid customs run her life. That's why she left. It must have taken a lot of courage."

"Come on," Korra said quietly, her own anger dissipated as well. Pakku no longer seemed quite so horrid, just broken-hearted and bitter. "Let's go."

* * *

The next night, Korra and Asami were strolling quietly down the frozen sidewalks of the tribal city. The blizzards had briefly given way to gentler snowfall, and while it still wasn't safe for them to set out for the portal, they had decided to take a walk together while things were quiet. Asami threaded her arm through Korra's, leaning gently against her as she used a bit of firebending to keep them warm.

The tribal city was nearly silent at night, so when Korra and Asami heard muffled sobs coming from around a corner, it was easy to locate the source. On one of the bridges spanning the canals, a girl with white hair stood crying into her hands.

Korra tugged Asami forward. "Come on. Let's go talk to her."

"Korra, I don't think we should…" Asami felt for the princess, she really did, but they were supposed to be _avoiding _unnecessary interactions with people from the past, not seeking them out. Especially with members of Korra's family.

"Look, she's going to–" Korra glanced around and lowered her voice, making sure no one else might hear. "She's going to _die_ in, what, a week? Maybe less? If we can make her last few days even a little bit happier, I think we should."

Korra had a point there, and Asami didn't feel any better about letting someone suffer needlessly than Korra did. She also knew that Korra couldn't walk away while someone was hurting, so she followed her up the steps and onto the bridge.

If Yue heard them approach, she gave no indication. Korra strode cautiously up behind the princess, asking gently, "Hey, Princess Yue? Are you alright?"

She looked up from the water below, wiping the tears from her face and trying in vain to maintain a regal visage. "Oh, hello Korra. Asami. It's not important."

Asami walked over to her, leaning on the railing of the bridge, Korra flowing close behind. "Please, tell us. Maybe we can help."

Princess Yue sighed and stared at the water for a moment before responding. Her eyes flicked to Korra's neck. "You're not married?"

Korra shook her head. "No. At least, not yet." Asami turned to Korra and was met with a warm smile.

_Not_ _yet_. The words rang in Asami's ears. Between her father's betrayal and Mako's romantic flip-flopping, Asami's adult life had been one of repeated abandonment. Korra had been her only real constancy since… well, since all those years ago, in the factory beneath her father's workshop. And now Korra was here, casually mentioning spending the rest of their lives together to a near-total stranger.

"Did you leave your tribe before you came of age?"

"It wasn't like that," Korra explained. "My parents– Well, we weren't super strict on traditions, and I was a bit of a… special case."

Korra was choosing her words with care, and Asami wasn't the only one who noticed. Yue's brows furrowed slightly, but she was either too trusting of her kin or too concerned with her own troubles to pry. Her face fell and she turned back to the water.

"Have you ever been… with someone?"

Korra's face split into a grin "Sure have. I'm in a relationship right now, actually."

"Is there someone waiting for you back home?" Yue was deliberately keeping the conversation directed away from herself, but both Korra and Asami knew what she was avoiding.

"Nope," Korra chuckled. She wrapped her hand around Asami's and their eyes locked for a moment. "She's here with me right now, actually."

"What?" She looked up. "I don't– Oh." The princess tripped over her words as the realization hit her. "That's not very traditional." There was no judgement or accusation in her tone, it was simply a curious observation. She sounded, if anything, hopeful as she watched them.

"It isn't," Korra replied, wrapping Asami's arm up and across her shoulders to lean back against her. Asami smiled warmly at her. "But I love her, and that's all that matters."

"That's all that matters…" Yue repeated quietly, eyes focused on an undefined point in the distance. She emerged from her reverie after a few moments, giving a faint giggle. "Well, my brother is going to be disappointed."

Asami tilted her head curiously. "Your brother?"

The princess nodded. "Iluq. He saw Korra at the party last night and asked If she might be promised to him."

"Iluq," Asami repeated. "Korra, isn't that… " She trailed off, knowing Korra understood the question. Asami didn't know much about Korra's family history, but she knew her grandfather had been chief of the Northern Tribe, and that name was familiar.

Korra nodded. "Yup."

"Don't worry," Yue assured them, not understanding the full nature of their apprehension. "My father wouldn't allow it; he's still too young to be marrying."

The three girls stood and talked until the blizzards returned and forced them inside. Yue avoided discussing her troubles directly, but she seemed happier by the time they had to flee the encroaching gales. Korra and Asami said their farewells to the princess and hurried back to their hut, lighting a fire to keep out the glacial cold.

* * *

"Oh man, I cannot _wait _to tell the guys about this," Korra said as she strapped the last of their gear to the snow-sailer. After almost a week of storms the skies had finally cleared, and the young couple wasn't going to wait around and give the temperamental weather a chance to turn on them again. "They are going to be so jealous."

Asami nodded her agreement. "Bolin especially. You know he's never going to forgive us for not taking him along. These people are his idols, and we got to meet them right in the middle of their adventures"

"We probably shouldn't tell Varrick, though. He'd probably try and find a way to do it himself," Korra chuckled.

Asami shuddered at the thought. Varrick, traveling freely through time, causing chaos and making money. It would be the end of the world as surely as any dark spirit.

Aboard the sailer, Korra gave a small sigh, smiling faintly. "You know, I think I'm going to miss this."

"We can always build another sailer when we get home, Korra."

Korra rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean." She stood upright and glanced around, surveying the area. "Do you see my glider-staff?"

Asami looked around, spotting part of the haft sticking out from under a disturbed pile of snow. "Here it is." She pulled it from the drift and tossed it to Korra.

"Thanks. Tenzin'd kill me if I lost this." Korra set the staff down at her feet and offered a hand to Asami. "Are we good to go?"

Asami took her hand, allowing Korra to pull her onto the snow-sailer. She shifted the rudder about, then deployed and released the simple brakes, which in reality were ice picks rigged to dig into the snow on demand. Everything seemed to be in working order, and as sturdy as it was going to be. She slipped her driving goggles down over her eyes and took a firm grip of the rudder. "I think so."

"Alright then," Korra grinned. "Hold on tight." With a quick glance over her shoulder to make sure they were alone, she set about her airbending. Korra swept her arms gracefully through her bending forms, summoning swirling currents of air that blew Asami's hair about wildly. The Avatar's little dance came to an end as she thrust her arms forward, and the sailer launched forward, Asami using the rudder to guide it due north.

This was one of Asami's favorite parts of building new things. She relished the challenge of design, and loved working with her hands, but there was no substitute for the rush of adrenaline that came from testing an invention herself. Especially when that invention was a high-speed vehicle.

Asami had never tried to make a high-speed vehicle out of _wood _of course, and had certainly never used bone or hide as a building material, but that was part of the fun. Working with these materials had already given her several new ideas, and she was anxious to get back to her workshop and test them out.

They came to a small rise and Asami gave the brakes a quick tug. What had once been a pile of raw materials and climbing gear reacted instantly, each piece playing its part in slowing the sailer's pace. Korra worked in concert with the machine, slowing the wind and letting the sail go slack, before returning with a fresh burst as they cleared the hill's crest. The sailer hung in the air for what felt a long while, both girls enjoying the brief period of weightlessness before they returned to the earth. Another rise and they repeated the leap, no less thrilling than the first.

They made tremendous time, the metal runners Korra had made hardly touching the ground as they flew across the snowy terrain. Most of the journey was across flat tundra or smooth ice sheets, but as the sun began to turn orange above the horizon a more craggy landscape came into view.

"We're almost there!" Korra shouted over the rushing wind. "I think the portal's in those cliffs over there!"

"How can you tell?" There were no lights in the sky, no indication of a portal anywhere to be seen, and Asami's compass showed they still had a ways to go before reaching magnetic north.

"I dunno. I can… sense it, I guess. Like an energy in the air." She held up a hand and flexed her fingers, as if feeling the presence of some invisible fluid. "Can't you feel that?"

Asami shook her head. "No. Must be an Avatar thing."

"I guess so." Korra pointed to the ravines and cliffs ahead. "We should go up and over here. Those valleys look too narrow for us to fit through." Asami nodded, already pushing on the rudder to guide them towards a gradual slope.

As they came to the top of the rise, Asami thought she might be starting to feel what Korra had been talking about. The air carried odd energy, and it made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. There was an eerie quiet as well, like the whole valley was holding its breath at their approach.

They slowed as they made their way across the small plateau, Korra allowing Asami the time she needed to avoid the crags and gulches that crisscrossed the region. A distant howl broke the silence.

Korra turned to Asami. "It's getting late. We should watch out for– " The Avatar disappeared as a grey blur whipped her from the snow-sailer.

"Korra!" Asami turned back to see Korra struggling on the ground with a grey and white wolf, with several of its pack emerging from their hiding places to surround the fallen Avatar. The sailer was still moving at a good clip, heading straight for a deep ravine. She yanked on the brakes, but the snow on the wind-swept plateau was deceptively thin, and rather than digging into thick snowpack the picks scraped against stone, barely slowing the out of control sailer as it careened towards the rocky drop.

With only a split second to react, Asami threw herself from the sailer, rolling as she hit the ground. She grimaced as it crashed into the far side of the crevasse and three days of work splintered into debris. But there was no time to mourn it. She flicked her glove into life and rushed back to Korra.

The Avatar wrestled with the wolf that had tackled her, pushing the snapping jaws far enough back to summon a burst of wind. With a startled yelp the wolf was flung into the air, landing in a puff of snow. Korra twisted on the ground, spinning on her back and swinging her legs in circular kicks to send a ring of fire around and keep the wolves at bay. She planted her hands on the ground and sprang back to her feet as the sailer crashed into the face of the canyon.

Her own safety forgotten at the threat of Asami being hurt, she whipped around to the source of the noise, allowing another wolf to leap at her. She barely had time to keep the jagged teeth from ripping into her arm, grabbing the animal and using sheer strength to throw it into one of its packmates. She fell into a firebending stance, lighting flames in each hand to keep the wolves at bay, or at least to stop them from all piling onto her at once.

Asami jogged up behind the animals, glove at the ready, but Korra held up a hand. "Stop!" An electric glove was hardly the best weapon for fending off wolves, and she doubted Asami had any experience fighting wild animals. Korra, on the other hand, had occasionally been allowed to go on hunting trips with her father growing up, and he had made sure she knew how to handle a run-in with wolves. Such knowledge was of real value in the poles. "Back away! But don't run; if you run they'll chase you!"

Asami did as Korra instructed, and the wolves seemed content to let her go, more concerned with Korra and her fire than they were with the newcomer. It would have been easy for her to burn the whole pack to a crisp, but Korra had no stomach for simply slaughtering wild animals. Instead, she threw one of her flames at the ground in front of a wolf between her and Asami, the fire erupting in a small explosion as it hit.

The wolf darted away and Korra moved quickly into the gap it left, whipping around to keep from leaving her back to the wolves. They kept a respectful distance from Korra's flames as she and Asami paced back to the ravine, but continued to follow the two girls.

Korra threw another blast of fire at the ground in front of her and several of the wolves scurried off. A few more seemed to lose interest and leave, but the braver of the pack still paced around the two women, trying to flank them.

Dispersing her flames, Korra lifted Asami into her arms and leapt backwards, dropping into the chasm behind her. They landed softly on a cushion of air, Korra letting her girlfriend back down as they touched the ground. A wolf howled forlornly above them, but the drop was too far for the hungry animals to pursue.

Asami turned to the wreckage of their home-made sailer. The vehicle itself was totaled, little more than a pile of scraps, and one of their supply packs had been torn to pieces. Fortunately they weren't going to be out here much longer, and the supplies would hardly be necessary once they got back to Republic City. "Looks like we're on foot from here on out."

"That's alright," Korra replied, pulling her glider-staff from a nearby pile of snow. "We're really close now, I can feel it." She glanced down the ravine to their left, hoisting their surviving pack over her shoulder. "It's this way."

Trusting Korra's instincts, Asami followed her through the narrow canyon. She proved correct, and after half an hour's walk the canyon opened up into a wide valley with a dense forest at its center.

At this point Asami was quite sure she was feeling what Korra had. The taut feeling was everywhere, like Asami might touch a rock and suddenly release the tension, flinging the rock into the sky. She could only assume this feeling was the result of the portal, its tremendous power contained and compacted by Avatar Wan's energybending all those millennia ago.

As they crossed into the wood, Korra turned to her. "There, you can feel that now, can't you?"

Asami nodded. "Definitely." If she, a non-bender and or an especially spiritual person could sense this, she could only imagine what it was like for the Avatar.

They made their way deeper into the forest and the shimmering dome of the northern portal came into view, half buried beneath jagged rocks and ice. The air around the portal was practically humming with energy, and it was distinctly warmer than the rest of the pole.

Korra took a deep breath, turning to Asami. "You ready?" She nodded and Korra turned back to the portal. "Then let's do this." She closed her eyes and placed the palm of her hand on the glowing sphere. When she opened her them again they were glowing with a fierce white light.

* * *

Almost a hundred miles away, Aang and Katara were training with Master Pakku. Katara still wasn't overly fond of the man, but he seemed open to being proven wrong, and when she had bested one of his top students after less than a week of formal training he had seemed almost proud. So she was warming to him, albeit slowly.

She caught the stream of water Aang passed to her, whirling it smoothly around her body before returning it to the Avatar. But instead of catching it, Aang seemed to waver, and the water dropped to the ground. He looked as though a stiff breeze could knock him off his feet.

"Aang, are you alright?" Katara asked, concern clear in her voice.

Aang shrugged weakly. "Just a little… lightheaded…" He swayed once more, then began to drop to the ground.

Katara rushed to his side, catching him before he could land. He blinked several times in her arms, seeming more confused than anything.

"What happened?"

"I don't know," Aang replied. "I just felt all… weird all of a sudden. Dizzy."

"Come on," Katara said, helping Aang to get upright and supporting him with her shoulder. "You need to go lie down. We can practice more later."

* * *

Korra's eyes returned to their usual blue as she lowered her hand, the portal remaining unopened.

"What's wrong?" Asami asked, concern growing in her voice.

"I don't know," Korra replied heavily. "It's just…" she hesitated. "Every instinct I have is telling me not to do this. When I opened the portals before, it was during the solstice and Harmonic Convergence. This time, I'd be forcing it open, and I don't think that's a smart plan."

"This feeling, is it from Raava?" Sometimes it was difficult to tell where Korra's subconscious ended and the Avatar spirit began.

Korra nodded slowly. "I think so."

"Alright then." Asami didn't always understand the inner workings of Korra's connection to the Spirit of Light, but when dealing with cosmic forces like Vaatu and the portals, it was best to listen. Several moments of anxious silence passed between them as the reality of their situation sank in. Asami glanced around at the thick forest and desolate tundra beyond. "Now what?"

* * *

**A/N: 'Cause things are always just that easy, right? Next chapter should be up in a week or so, sooner if things go well. As always, please comment/review, I love hearing all your feedback. Until next time!**


	7. Chapter 7

Fresh snow crunching underfoot, Korra and Asami made their way through the arctic tundra. The northern lights shimmered green and blue in the clear skies overhead, but neither girl had the energy to appreciate them. They were exhausted, but they didn't dare stop for the night. Clear weather was rare on the frozen plains of the north, so they had to get as far as they could before it began to snow.

Korra went first, carrying a bright flame for warmth and illumination as the as the last light of the day faded over the horizon. A sudden breeze chilled the exposed skin on her face, and she stopped in place, sliding her pack from her shoulders.

"Why are we stopping?" Asami asked from just behind her, shivering even under her hooded cloak.

Korra hopped out of her deep footprints, landing lightly on the surface of the snow. "We need to find shelter. The wind's starting to pick up again, and believe me, you really don't want to be caught in a snowstorm out here." If the blizzards here were anything like the ones in the south, then they needed to get inside – and quickly. The winds could freeze a person's skin in minutes if they weren't fully covered. She flicked the wings of her glider-staff open. "I'm going to see if I can find valley or a cave or something."

Asami nodded curtly. "Got it."

Korra leapt from the ground, bending the air around her into the wings of her staff and taking to the skies. The air was even colder up here, and the wind from her flight whipped the hood of her parka off her shoulders, but she didn't have to stay up long. There was a rocky outcropping maybe a mile to the south, and it even looked to have a cave.

Stowing her glider, Korra dropped back down onto the snow in front of Asami. The hooded girl looked up at her, frost beginning to form on her face. "Anything?"

Korra nodded. "Yeah, there's a cave up ahead."

"Good," Asami said shakily, pulling her cloak tighter around her shoulders. A wave of guilt washed over Korra for having left her alone at all, and she pulled Asami into a tight hug, using her firebending to keep them both warm. What had previously been a comforting romantic gesture was now a matter of simple survival.

Korra leaned back, leaving her hands on Asami's shoulders and smiling tenderly. "Come on. Let's get you someplace warm."

They hurried to the cave, where Korra immediately set about building a fire. After they left the portal they had scavenged what they could from the wreck of their snow-sailer, and the splintered wood of its frame made for passable fuel. The fire was small, and they didn't have enough wood to last the night, but its heat was appreciated nonetheless. Asami dropped her hood from her shoulders and removed her gloves, warming her hands in front of the flames.

With a bit of earthbending, Korra carved a pair of stone cups from the wall of the cave, filling them with melted snow. She warmed the cups in her hands until the water began to steam. "Here," she said, offering one of the cups to Asami. "We need to stay hydrated. This weather'll take the water right out of you."

Asami accepted the water happily, holding the warm cup in both hands and sipping gingerly at the water. "Have you been in storms like this before?" she asked as Korra sat down next to her.

"When I was growing up in the South Pole my dad would occasionally take me on hunting trips." Korra took a long sip of her own water, the hot liquid running down her throat and going straight to her core. "I never really cared for the hunting part, but I would take any excuse to get out of the compound." She glanced outside, where the snow was beginning to fall heavily. "We got trapped by storms a couple times. He taught me how to find shelter, build a fire, things like that."

"I'll bet the White Lotus didn't like that."

"Nope!" Korra chuckled, leaning back as fond memories flitted through her mind. "But my dad never really gave them much choice. And Katara always supported him. Sokka even came along once, on one of his visits to the compound." Korra sighed wistfully. It was strange to think that her oldest memories of the famous Water Tribe siblings were of things that wouldn't happen for decades. Did they even really count as memories if they hadn't happened yet?

After a few pensive minutes contemplating the nature of time and memory, _Tenzin would be so proud_, Korra let out a slow yawn. All her bending and hiking was finally catching up with her.

Asami chuckled softly. "You should get some rest. Whatever we decide to do next, you'll need your strength."

Korra wasn't about to argue with that. She pressed a kiss to Asami's cheek and settled down on the uncomfortable stone floor, drifting off to sleep.

* * *

When dawn peeked over the horizon of the Water Tribe, Katara was already up, working through the bending motions Master Pakku had shown her the previous day. She moved through each step, but as she brought her arms around for a final swing, her tight stream of water disintegrated, bursting into a spray.

Katara grunted in irritation. She could feel herself getting better. With every repetition her motions were smoother and steadier, but it was still frustrating. Aang had picked the move up almost immediately, and Pakku made it seem so easy. She had even caught a glimpse of Korra practicing her waterbending with her friend, and seen her use this exact routine as though it were the most natural thing in the world.

Katara knew she shouldn't be comparing herself to older, more experienced waterbenders, but she couldn't help but feel as though she was struggling to catch up. The sound of approaching footsteps pulled her from her thoughts. She turned around to see Yue descending the steps of the palace.

"Good morning Katara," the princess greeted cheerfully. "Is your brother awake? We were planning on meeting this morning."

Katara had to fight the urge to scoff. As if Sokka would ever get up before sunrise without being harassed. "No, he's still asleep in the hut. I just wanted to get up early and get some practice in." She paused as a thought occurred to her. "Say, do you know if Korra and Asami are still around?"

"No, I'm afraid they left yesterday afternoon. They told my father they were going to the spirit grove at the pole, but they didn't say for how long." She paused for a moment. "In fact, it didn't sound like they planned on coming back here at all."

"Drat." Katara had seen Korra practicing her forms; she looked as though could have given Master Pakku a run for his money. She had hoped she could get the powerful waterbender to give her a few pointers.

The other girl started to move on, but hesitated mid-step, looking as though she had something more to say.

"What is it?" Katara inquired.

Yue turned back to her. "I'm not sure. It's just that…" the princess trailed off before finding the right words. "Do you know them? Korra and Asami, had you met them before coming here?" Katara shook her head. "Hmm. I overheard them the other day, when you challenged Master Pakku. The way they talked about you, it sounded as though they knew you well."

"Huh." Katara said simply. "They might have just heard of us. Aang's the Avatar, and we haven't really been hiding."

"But it was more than that. I wasn't paying attention at first, but from what they said… It was almost like they knew your fight with Pakku was going to happen even before you challenged him."

"What are you saying? Do you think they're psychic?" Katara couldn't help but feel a little defensive. She hadn't spoken with the two women much since the feast, but Korra was Southern Water Tribe, and that meant she was kin.

"No, I'm just saying…" Princess Yue paused, choosing her next words with care. "I'm saying that there's something unusual about them. Something they're not telling us." She shrugged. "It's just a feeling, and it's probably nothing. Besides, we may never see them again." Before Katara could respond, an elderly voice drew her attention.

"Good morning Pupil Katara! Getting in some early practice in?"

She turned to see Master Pakku approaching casually from the level below. She gave a small bow in greeting. "Yes. I was struggling with the move from yesterday, and I wanted to master it before I move on."

"Your determination is admirable," the old master commented. "But don't wear yourself out too early. We'll be sparring in class today, and I've got you starting against Pupil Sangok." He stroked his beard contemplatively. "Of course, at the rate you've been progressing, I doubt he'll prove much of a challenge."

"I should be going," Princess Yue announced, politely bowing to Katara and her instructor. "Katara. Master Pakku. Good day."

As she left, Katara couldn't help but cast her mind back to her brief conversations with Korra. Now that she thought about it, the young woman was evasive in her answers whenever Katara asked about her past. In fact, she had barely given any details at all. Maybe the princess was onto something…

Katara dropped back into her waterbending stance, doing her best to put her suspicions aside. She liked the older girl, even if she didn't know much about her, and right now she had more important things to focus on. The snow around her melted and flowed up into a sphere, and she set about the motions of her waterbending.

* * *

Asami stepped out into the snow, hugging her cloak around her shoulders to keep warm in the morning air. Korra stood just ahead, eyes fixed on the sky. The storm had mostly passed overnight, and while the sky was still covered by thick clouds, the winds had finally died down to a gentle breeze. It left a heavy stillness hanging in the cold air. It was safe to travel again, and the girls had wasted no time in getting moving.

"Are you sure you want to go this way?" Korra asked, concern clear in her voice. "We could always walk, I know how much you hate flying." Korra loved travelling by air, but she had no wish to force Asami into flying if she didn't want to.

Asami nodded resolutely. "I'm sure. We barely have any food, and the trip back will take at least another day on foot. This way's better." She flipped the hood of her cloak up over her head. "Besides, I actually like flying with you, I just get sore after a while."

Flicking out the wings of her glider staff, Korra wrapped an arm firmly around Asami's waist, letting the taller girl grip the handle on her side of the staff. With a burst of wind, both girls launched into the air and took off across the sky. Korra kept a steady hold on Asami as they settled into comfortable positions. Asami's added weight didn't actually make the bending that much harder, but the glider wasn't built to accommodate two. Things could get a little cramped.

Powered by Korra, the glider cut easily through the air and carried them back towards the tribe. They kept fairly low to the ground, not wanting to risk being spotted by a hunting party, and ascended only when they needed to clear the occasional rocky outcropping.

After an hour or so, Korra felt Asami begin to shift uncomfortably and flex her fingers on the handlebar. Korra turned to her. "You want to take a break?"

"No, I'm good," Asami called back, practically having to shout over the sound of the rushing air. Korra nodded sharply and pressed onward, carrying them over a small gust of wind from below.

They continued for another half hour, or at least Korra thought it was another half hour. With the skies carpeted by clouds and no clock in sight, it was difficult to accurately judge time. Regardless, at this point Asami was clearly uncomfortable. "I'm bringing us down, get ready."

She softened the wind going into the glider's wings and angled them upright, unhooking her feet from the lower wings and setting them gently on the ground. As she stowed the wings Asami pulled her hood back over her shoulders, pulling the cloak around her.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"I'm starting to get tired," Korra half-lied, stretching her arms over her head to work the stiffness from her own muscles. Her stomach grumbled. "Guess I'm getting hungry too."

Asami slid the pack off her shoulders and withdrew a pouch of seal jerky. "Here." She handed Korra a piece of the meat. "We don't have much though, so eat it slowly…" she said as Korra scarfed the small snack down in two bites. "Or all at once, that works too."

Korra gave a helpless shrug, swallowing her mouthful of jerky. "Should've said something quicker." The wind picked up, sending a flurry of snow across the exposed couple. Korra blew a small puff of fire into her hands, briefly warming her exposed fingers. "Come on, we should probably walk the rest of the way anyway. The tribe patrols out here pretty heavily, and it's hard to explain a flying waterbender."

A couple hours into their journey, Korra noticed that something was off. The clouds had turned an odd shade of dark grey, and the gently falling snow had followed suit. She stopped, reaching out a hand to catch a clump of snowflakes. At first glance it looked to be your normal bit of fluffy snow, but it had been tinged black somehow. She turned to Asami, holding out her hand.

"Take a look at this."

Asami glanced at her palm. "Take a look at what?"

"Oh, it melted." Korra caught another clump, this one even blacker than the last. "Look at that. Black snow."

"Weird," Asami mused, gently taking the snow from Korra to get a better look at it before it melted. "Any idea what could cause that?"

"No. I grew up in the South Pole; I'm kind of an expert on snow, but I've never seen anything like that." Korra looked around; dark patches were beginning to form all around her. She walked over to the nearest one and swept her finger through it, picking up a bit of the blackened snow before sticking it in her mouth to give it a taste. She smacked her lips loudly as the unpleasant, and definitely unnatural, taste filled her mouth.

Asami gave a soft laugh. "Did you learn anything?"

"It tastes… weird," Korra replied, though she quickly realized she wasn't being very specific. "Burnt. Like ash, or… or soot."

Asami's brow furrowed for a moment, then cleared in realization "The Fire Nation. They're here."

"This doesn't change anything," Korra said as she stood, looking out at the horizon. "We still need to get back to the tribe." The weather was on their side for now, but that wouldn't last. And Korra would be lying if she said she wasn't looking forward to seeing Aang and his friends again.

The black snow seemed to come and go. In some places it was thick, in others it was almost entirely absent and the icy plains remained as bright as ever. But as they moved south, the darkened regions became more frequent and the clear patches became sparser.

As they came to another patch of clean snow, the wind carried the sound of hoofbeats from behind them. Korra turned to see dozen or more Water Tribe warriors approaching on the backs of buffalo yaks, each one brandishing a bone-tipped spear and a variety of smaller weapons. Korra hoped they were friendly, but her relief turned to trepidation as the warriors surrounded the two women, penning them in a ring of spears.

The eldest of the warriors, presumably the leader, trotted his mount past the spears to look them over, though his suspicion lessened when he identified them.

"What are you two women doing out here?" His voice was more irritated than aggressive or worried. He clearly didn't see a pair of young women as any sort of threat.

As irritated as she was at his dismissive tone, Korra didn't snap at him. "Hey buddy, tell your friends to point their spears somewhere else. We're on your side." Alright, maybe she snapped at him a little.

One of the warriors behind the spears spoke up. "It's true, sir. I saw this one with Chief Arnook at the feast."

The warrior scowled down at Korra, visibly annoyed by her defiant tone, but gestured to his men, and the ring of spears lifted. He pointed to Asami. "And your friend, can she be trusted?"

"Absolutely. I'd trust her with my life," she said firmly, though the reply felt woefully inadequate. She glanced at Asami, who smiled back warmly.

The mounted warrior seemed unmoved by Korra's testimony, but after a moment of tense silence his scowl relented. "Very well. If the Chief sees fit to trust you, then so shall I. Do you require assistance in getting back to the tribe?"

"It couldn't hurt," Korra replied stiffly. She and Asami were no damsels in distress to be rescued, but she had no wish to spend any longer on these frozen plains than necessary.

Another of the warriors spoke up, pointing to the sky. "Sir! Look. The snow." Every head in the group turned towards the clouds, and Korra followed, looking up to see sickly grey flakes falling from the unnaturally dark sky.

"What in…" The leader paused as he realized what was happening. "The Fire Nation! We must return to the tribe!" He turned back to Korra. "Can you ride?" She nodded, and he pointed to one of his men. "Suluk, double up with Kaito, give the women your mount! We set out immediately!"

The warrior he indicated wordlessly hopped from his buffalo yak, and the two girls climbed on top of it, Asami sitting behind Korra. She wrapped her arms around the younger woman's waist and held on tightly as Korra took the reins and urged the creature forward. The leader of the patrol barked an order to his men, and Korra and Asami followed them back towards the tribal city.

Korra had never ridden a buffalo yak before, but it wasn't so different from a polar bear dog, and she adapted quickly. They galloped across the remaining tundra, the ashy greyness growing thicker and thicker as they drew closer to the tribal city. It wasn't long before Korra could make out dark pillars of smoke on the horizon, no doubt rising from dozens of warships.

As they reached the rim of the city, Korra corrected herself. _Hundreds _of warships, not dozens. Even from her vantage point, the enormous fleet stretched halfway to the horizon, billowing smoke into the sky. Korra could see the forward ships pelting the city's high wall with flaming stones, could hear the impacts as they hit, even at this distance.

"That's a lot of boats," she breathed to Asami, who was looking out over her shoulder.

"Almost half the Fire Nation's navy," Asami whispered in reply. "According to the history books."

Their discussion was interrupted as the leader of the warriors began to shout seeking to rally his men. "Steel yourselves, Warriors! The Fire Nation has come by sea, they rest upon our element! When the night falls, we will sweep them away with the tide!" A small cheer went up from the group and the lead warrior issued a sharp series of commands, directing them to various points in the city. He trotted his mount up next to Korra. "Tullik tells me you claim to be warriors. Will you be joining the fight?"

Korra looked back to Asami, unsure of how to respond. They hadn't really discussed what they would do once they got back; they had been more concerned with simply getting back before they froze to death.

This was not what the tribesman took away from their hesitation. He scoffed, "I thought as much. Women have no place on the battlefield. Go back to the inner city. You'll be safe there." Before either of them could offer a response, he turned his mount away and led it down the winding path into the city.

Korra had had enough. She gave a sharp tug on the reins to face their mount towards the ramp and urged the mount forward. They blew straight passed the warrior as Korra pushed the buffalo yak faster and faster. After a short ways, the path switched back, but Korra didn't slow down. Instead she placed the reins in Asami's hands and gave their mount a small kick, requesting one last burst of speed. The loyal creature obediently leapt from the path and into the air, a good fifty feet from the frozen ground below.

Korra's arms immediately began the motions of waterbending, reshaping a piece of the ice cliff that surrounded the city into a long ramp. The buffalo yak, accustomed to icy surfaces, slid down with ease, trotting to an easy stop at the bottom. With a wave of her hand the ramp melted, running down into a nearby canal.

Korra turned back to the warrior, grinning at the stunned look on his face. Not taking her eyes off him, she placed a fist in her palm and gave a shallow bow. She swung a leg over her mount's back and dropped to the ground, followed shortly by Asami.

She turned to the startled young man they had landed next to and held out the reins. "Here. Take this back to… wherever it goes." He hesitantly took hold of the reins, looking nervously at Korra, and led the mount off into the city. Korra turned back to Asami, who was standing with crossed arms and a bemused smile on her face.

"What?" Korra asked indignantly.

Asami shook her head with a small laugh. "You're such a show off."

"He had it coming," Korra shrugged, glancing back up at the ramp they had descended from. "'Women have no place on the battlefield.' Huh. We'll show him."

"So we're going to fight, then? I wasn't sure."

Asami's question defeated Korra's enthusiasm. "Well, yeah. People are dying out there, we have to do something," she responded more soberly.

"Are you sure that's a good idea? We don't know what saving the people who die in this battle will do to the future. Maybe they're supposed to die here." Asami bit her lip uncomfortably. She could scarcely believe the words coming out of her own mouth, but she had no idea how time worked in situations like these. They could very well get home, however they accomplished that, to find Republic City destroyed, or run by Equalists, or who knows what.

"Maybe," Korra responded with growing confidence. "But that's not our call to make. I don't know what'll happen in the future, but I do know that I can't stand around doing nothing while people are in trouble. And I also know–" she was briefly interrupted as a catapult stone landed nearby, destroying a section of road. With a quick look over to make sure that no one was hurt, she continued. "I know you well enough to know that you can't either."

She was right of course, Asami could no more watch people suffer than Korra, especially when she was in a position to help them. But she still worried. "Alright," she acquiesced. "But we need to be careful. And we can't kill anyone, unless we have absolutely no other choice."

Korra nodded her agreement. "Sounds good." She looked around, but the city hadn't actually been penetrated yet, so there were no soldiers around. "So… where to?"

Asami glanced out at the wall of the city and the water beyond, withdrawing her electrified glove from their pack. "Let's go to the wall. When the Fire Nation breaks through, that'll be where." She reached out her ungloved hand to place it on Korra's shoulder, stopping the Avatar as she set off for the wall. "You realize there'll be some things we can't change right? Like saving Princess Yue; if we're not careful we could end up completely rewriting history."

"I know." Korra understood better than most how sometimes good could come from the bad, how overcoming your own hardships could make you stronger in the end, but she instinctively rebelled at the idea that helping those in need could be a bad thing.

"Alright," Asami nodded. "Let's just be careful."

They made their way through the city, passing broken buildings and steaming craters. Many of the walkways and sculptures were ancient, bent from the ice hundreds, even thousands of years ago, but they now lay shattered by the Fire Nation's bombardment. As they reached the top of the wall, they were greeted by Katara, who rushed over excitedly.

"Korra, Asami! Thank the spirits you came back!" She seemed genuinely happy to see them, and Korra couldn't help but smile. Young Katara was every bit as fun to be around as older Katara, and while it might lead to some awkward conversations when she got back, Korra was still looking forward to seeing more of the girl who would become her teacher. "What happened? Princess Yue said you were leaving for good."

"Umm…" Korra didn't really have a good explanation prepared. She hadn't actually been expecting to see Katara again so soon. It was a big city after all.

Fortunately, Asami bailed her out. "We were planning to, but things didn't go as expected."

Katara frowned skeptically for a moment and Korra grew tense, silently hoping that the young waterbender didn't push for any more details. Fortunately, there were more pressing concerns. The sound of tearing metal came from one of the ships in the bay, and all three girls looked down to see Aang leaping away from a collapsed catapult.

As the young airbender flew to the next ship, one of the many catapults hurled a burning, pitch-covered stone straight towards him. He saw the missile coming, and swung his glider staff to send a blast of air at the stone, but his aim was off. Rather than striking the boulder head-on, the air glanced off its side, only shifting its tremendous momentum by a little. It continued towards the young airbender, clipping his side and knocking his staff from his grip. Stunned from the impact and lacking a glider, Aang dropped into the sea.

"Aang!" Katara rushed to the edge of the wall, leaning on the parapet to see where the Avatar had landed.

Korra turned to Asami, alarm written plainly on her face. "This never happened," she whispered urgently.

Asami leaned over to whisper back. "Are you sure?"

Korra nodded stiffly. She had heard all of Katara's stories about the Fire Nation's attack on the Northern Water Tribe when she was a little girl, and while she didn't remember all the details, she knew she had never heard about Aang being captured or killed. This was new.

Katara pointed to a spot in the center of a cluster of Fire Nation ships, which were circling around a barely-visible figure in the water. "There he is! We have to help him!" She whipped around to face the crowd on the wall, to insist they send out a rescue party. Katara probably would have volunteered to go herself, but Korra was already moving. Somehow she had caused this, and she was going to fix it.

With no time to waste on stairs or gates, Korra dashed straight past her future waterbending instructor and vaulted over the edge of the wall. She pulled into a tight pose as she dropped, lifting a column of water up to break her fall. The air was blasted from her lungs as she hit the frigid water, and she bobbed to the surface to take a deep breath before diving back down again.

Staying beneath the waves, Korra summoned a current of water to carry her straight to the fallen airbender, who was clinging to his staff to stay afloat.

"What? Who…" Aang mumbled as Korra floated to the surface next to him, still groggy from the hit.

"It's alright," Korra reassured him. "I'm a friend, remember?" Lifting the dazed monk onto her shoulder as she glanced around for a clear path to the wall, Korra's attention was drawn by the mechanical sound of a catapult unleashing its payload. She turned to see a fiery stone arcing almost lazily through the air, though she knew its approach was anything but slow.

With only a moment to react, Korra bent the water around her into several twisting currents which broke the surface in a tight drill, aimed straight for the incoming boulder. The spear pierced the boulder through its center, the high-pressure water splitting the stone apart and breaking the projectile into several fragments, which splashed harmlessly into the sea.

"Hold your breath." Keeping a tight grip on Aang, Korra dove beneath the waves again. The Fire Navy vessels had cut her off from the wall, but it was a simple enough matter to go underneath them. She shot through the water, other Avatar in tow, and breached the surface at the wall's base.

Pulling the tidal currents into a vortex around her, she thrust her free hand downward and launched into the air, carried skyward by a twisting column of water. She ascended up past the ramparts and curved the end of the column to place her and her past life safely on the wall.

Aang's staff dropped from his grip and Korra lowered him gently from her shoulder, Katara rushing to his side. She looked at Korra appreciatively, then turned to chide the semi-conscious airbender. "Oh, Aang, you idiot, I told you not to go out there after last night…"

"Last night?" Korra asked worriedly. "What happened last night?"

"I'm not sure. Around sunset, we were practicing waterbending when he almost passed out. I thought he was just tired after practicing, but he was still punchy when he woke up this morning."

Korra gently pulled Asami aside, lowering her voice to keep anyone else from hearing. "Sunset. Wasn't that when I..."

"Started to open the portal," Asami confirmed. She glanced at Aang, who was beginning to come around. "When you went into the Avatar state it must have affected him somehow."

Korra was actually fairly relieved by this news. She had been afraid that by speaking with Aang, she had somehow set in motion events that led to his injury. But if it was using the Avatar State, well, she could manage to avoid using that for a while. She would have to anyway if she wanted to keep her identity as the Avatar a secret. Which seemed like a good idea in general.

"Ugh…" The other Avatar groaned as he came to. "What– What happened?"

Katara shook her head, a relieved smile on her face. "You got hit, silly. If Korra hadn't pulled you out…" She let the thought hang in the air, obviously not wanting to think about what might've happened.

"Oh." Aang looked up at Korra. "Thanks."

"No problem," Korra replied non-chalantly.

Katara lifted Aang off the ground, carrying him gently in her arms. "Come on. Let's get you to the healing huts." Korra watched them go, then turned back to the water. The Fire Navy had ceased its attack and the forward ships were backing off, but it wasn't much of a relief. For the first time since landing in the past, Korra was genuinely worried about what might happen next.

* * *

**A/N: Whew, finally! I rewrote this a couple times, and I'm still not entirely sure I'm satisfied with it, but eventually you just have to keep moving. So anyway, here it is! Let me know how it came out.**


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